When It All Falls Down
by becauseshelovesme
Summary: After Edward left,the Volturi came to visit the Cullens at Aro's request. They are shocked to find them gone and Bella fully aware of thier world. What will happen once the Cullens find out Bella has been taken? Before Jacob. B/E
1. Bella's Movie

**Chapter 1: Bella's Movie**

"_I want to know if Edward left you alone out there in the middle of the woods," Charlie insisted._

_His name sent another wave of torture through me. I shook my head, frantic, desperate to escape the pain. _

"_It was my fault. He left me right here on the trail, in sight of the house….but I tried to follow him."_

_Charlie started to say something; childishly, I covered my ears. "I can't talk about this anymore, Dad. I want to go to my room."_

_Before he could answer, I scrambled up from the couch and lurched my way up the stairs. Someone had been in the house to leave a note for Charlie, a note that would lead him to find me. From the minute that I'd realized this, a horrible suspicion began to grow in my head. I rushed to my room shutting and locking the door behind me before I ran to the CD player by my bed. _

_Everything looked exactly the same as I'd left it. I pressed down on the top of the CD player. The latch unhooked, and the lid slowly swung open._

_It was empty._

_The album Renee had given me sat on the floor beside the bed, just where I'd put it last. I lifted the cover with a shaking hand._

_I didn't have to flip any farther than the first page. The little metal corners no longer held a picture in place. The page was blank except for my own handwriting scrawled across the bottom:_ _Edward Cullen, Charlie's Kitchen, Sept. 13__th__._

_I stopped there. I was sure that he would have been very through. It will be as If I never existed, he'd promised me._

_I felt the smooth wooden floor beneath my knees, and then the palms of my hands, and then it was pressed against the skin of my cheek. I hoped that I was fainting, but, to my disappointment, I didn't lose consciousness. The waves of pain that had only lapped at me before now reared high up and washed over my head, pulling me under._

_I did not resurface._

-New Moon, Stephanie Meyer

**BPOV**

I felt trapped; trapped in a dream that I had no way of pulling myself out of.

His face would flash into my catatonic mind causing a slight smile to form on my lips. My subconscious lurches forward, willing him to take hold of me. But Edward wasn't smiling. He was not looking at me with longing or desire in his eyes. The only emotion that spread across his face was annoyance. The pain came crashing down on me then as I saw him look up at me through his eyelashes and say, "Bella, I don't want you to come with me."

Oh god! Please not again! "I've let this go on for far too long……You're no good for me, Bella."

I pulled my knees back up to my chest. I wrapped my arms around my legs and quickly grabbed hold of my upper thigh with two fingers. I could not pinch myself hard enough. Silently I begged to wake up from this dream. I could not take it being played over and over in my mind like a movie on repeat.

But still I stayed motionless.

Staring at my window, I laid there basically dead. My gaze never left the site of it as I continued to tell myself that this was all a dream. Soon he would come through it, lie down beside me, wrap me in his arms, and chase the nightmare away. Edward was my savior. He could not, would not, allow me to be engulfed in this crushing pain. So I continued to stare, never once letting my resolve falter.

He never came.

********************

The movie had just finished again as I heard footsteps coming up the stairs. My head did not turn as I smelled the food that had just been brought into my room. My stomach wretched internally as I formed a picture of the tomato soup in the bowl.

_"You can barely move Bella. Let me help you love." Edward was sitting on the floor next to my bed holding the bowl of crimson colored soup. He had gone to the pharmacy to pick up the prescription Carlisle had ordered, asked the pharmacist what he could feed me to help my stomach, and then promptly brought it back to force feed me the nourishment._

_"This is such crap!" I whined. "Who gets a stomach virus in the summer?"_

The smell was getting stronger now as it was brought to my bedside table and sat down. I never turned away from the window.

"Bells, you have to eat something. It's been five days. You cannot go on like this!" I narrowed my eyes and came to a conclusion on who was talking to me. Charlie? Yes, that had to be it. This voice had pierced into my subconscious many times during my never ending dream. It was the only voice I heard other than………his.

And just like that, the movie started over.

*********************

I heard whispers all around me and realized someone was in my room again. They were speaking at a level so low that I couldn't wrap my mind around the individual words being formulated.

My heart stopped as I felt a rise in excitement. I knew a few people who could whisper without everyone hearing them. At long last, my body listened to my mind and I sprang forth from my bed thinking they had finally returned to save me from this torture. My eyes scanned the room only to be shocked that I didn't see a single Cullen standing in front of me.

Across the room, Renee stood by my dresser. Laid open on the floor was the suitcase I had used to bring all my belongings to forks last year. My mother was quickly pulling my clothes out of the dresser before folding them and placing them inside.

"Mom" I whispered. She shot her head around in utter disbelief when she heard my voice.

"Bella" she gasped, "Oh honey I'm so sorry for everything. It's so good to see you out of that bed. Charlie said you haven't moved in a week." She rushed forward and embraced me with her tiny arms. I stood there and let her hold me close for a minute before a tiny voice escaped my mouth, "Mom, why are you here?"

She put both her hands on my shoulders and pushed me back so that she could see my face without having to actually let me go. The look on her face was hard to read. At first it showed anger, but then it soften and the love shined through.

"I'm taking you with me to Jacksonville baby. You need to get away from here. It seems you are having a hard time letting this go, and I will not sit by and watch the memories of this place drag you under."

I was completely taken off guard by her statement and yanked my body from her touch. I felt the blood rush up to my cheeks as a processed what she had just said to me. I was not blushing. I was pissed.

In a fury I screamed, "I'M NOT GOING ANYWHERE!" I ran forward to the suitcase that now contained most of my cloths. I grabbed the top and threw it up causing all the contents to fall to the floor. "DON'T TOUCH MY STUFF!" I picked up half the pile of clothes and threw them across the room through the open closet door. "YOU CAN'T MAKE ME LEAVE!" The other half of the clothes were in my hands and again I threw them into the closet.

My mother quickly backed up against my wall as she witnessed my fury. The concern in her eyes was haunting. Then two strong hands clasped my wrists to keep me from doing anymore damage on my room. Charlie's face was inches from mine as he spoke firmly. "Enough Bella. You have to stop this. He isn't coming back. They left."

The emotions induced from his statement were hard to bare. They seemed to start at my toes and quickly wash over me. I felt the pain as it took control of me again. Only this time, the pain was deep in my heart. It was no longer only in my head forbidding me to believe he was gone. This time, my heart knew the truth. The pain took hold of it like someone was reaching into my chest and squeezing with all their strength.

"HE'S GONE!" I screamed out loud before hysterical sobs escaped my mouth and tears flowed freely down my cheeks. I collapsed onto my wood floor and rocked back and forth on my knees clutching my head. The tears were coming uncontrollably.

My mother ran to my side, but simply sat down next to me. She never said another word, nor attempted to reach out to me that day. She just sat there and let me cry the black abyss away.

***************

I woke up on my floor when the sun came through my window. Renee was already awake sitting next to me. She looked at the light shining through into the house and smiled. I knew my mother was taking the presence of the almost no existent sun as a sign that things were going to turn around now. I knew better. I hurt as much this morning as I did last night.

I wasn't leaving forks. Of this I was absolutely certain. I wanted my life put back together. _He_ might not want me anymore, but Alice might one day. I knew the family, as well as my Alice probably left at _his_ request. I held onto the hope that one day, Alice would think of me and come back. I would be here waiting.

The door opened as Charlie stepped through. The wheels in my head started turning as I quickly grasped for a plan to keep me here. I waited for one of them to speak as I sat there with red, puffy, and blood shot eyes. Charlie's lips started to open, but Renee quickly interjected before he could speak.

"Bella, I know you are 18 now. I'm not going to force you to do anything that you don't want to do. I know you can take care of yourself. I'm not going to pretend I am talking to a normal 18 year old." She paused, seeming to refocus where exactly she was going with this dialogue. "I love you Baby. If it was my choice I would take you away from this place and these memories that are haunting you. You can start at a new school and make new friends. The weather is great there, and you would love the heat. You don't have to stay here and drown Bella. Please come home with me. I'll help you get through this."

I tried to process what she had just said. I loved my mother, but the thought of her taking care of me was a little bit absurd. Charlie waited to make sure Renee was done talking before he began.

"I won't make you leave Bells. You are welcome to stay. I love having you. But I can't continue to watch you like this"

I took this opportunity to put my plan into place then. I took a breath and attempted to smile. I knew the smile was hopeless.

"I feel much better now. I'm still not okay, but I think it will be better now. I'm not leaving Forks. I won't run away from this. I need to stay and deal with it." I took a breath and again focused on giving that smile a try. "Charlie needs me mom. You have Phil, but I am all Charlie has. I'm sorry you both had to see me like that. But it's done now. I promise I'm going to be fine. I'll go back to school tomorrow. Angela and Jess will be happy to see me." I threw that last statement in there to show Charlie that I had other people here that I cared about other than………him. I knew he would fight me if he thought I had no ties holding me here other than the memories.

I saw my parents look over and each other, questioning whether I was telling the truth. My mother slowly nodded at Charlie who then said, "Alright Bells, you can stay."

****************

October

The movie still played in my head at night. The only difference now was I woke up from the dream. Over and over again the same scenario played out. The dream would happen and I would wake up screaming, with tears streaming down my face. I was glad when Charlie finally stopped checking on me.

****************

November

I was at school when it happened this time. I heard the announcement over the speaker that everyone was to report to the cafeteria for an assembly. As I always did, I simply obeyed without asking questions. Not that I had anyone to ask a question too. By now, everyone had given up trying to talk to me. I just orbited on the outside of my former social circle like one of the many moons of a planet. It was there, but you had little reason to pay attention to it. I was glad when they finally just let me be.

I took a seat at the table with Angela and the others for no reason other than to keep up appearances. I knew Charlie could not see what I did at school, but if he happened to come across one of them in town and asked if they spent time with me at school, I was hoping they would just say yes. I did sit with them after all.

I froze when I heard the music start.

My head jerked around to the people sitting at my table. I was panicking. Thankfully Angela caught my reaction and noticed the question in my eyes. "It's the annual talent show Bella."

My anxiety started to increase ten-fold. I knew this was not going to be good. The first performer played the violin. That wasn't so bad. Just notes, no lyrics. My head tried desperately to take me to a memory involving a piano, but I squashed it….Focus…I started humming to myself to chase it away. The music stopped and I relaxed a little. I could get through this. That wasn't so bad.

There was a ballet dancer, two comedians, and then a rather awkward looking boy who did a monologue I think. The show was almost over. I was going to make it.

I was too busy congratulating myself to realize that someone else had walked on the stage. The guy was sitting on a tall stool with an acoustic guitar in his lap. I almost choked when I heard the first cords start to play. This was bad. This was very bad. I told myself to breath over and over again, but when the words started I heard nothing but them.

_It's the way that you blush when you're nervous.  
It's your ability to make me earn this.  
I know that you're tired, just let me sing you to sleep._

Crap. Crap. Crap! This is not happening.

_If you need anything, just say the word.  
I mean anything.  
Rest assured, if you start to doze, then I'll tuck you in,  
Plant my lips where your necklaces close._

I felt the memories start to creep back up. _I saw us lying in my bed late at night. His arms were wrapped around me tightly, refusing to relinquish their hold. I felt him nozzle my hair out of the way of my neck as he took a deep breath to smell my hair. He was humming my lullaby very softly. I smiled on and the happiness encompassed me. He then lowered his lips right to the back of neck and sweetly kissed it. It was the last thing I felt as I slowly succumbed to sleep. His beautiful lips whispered in my ear, "Sleep well Love" before he resumed humming my personal lullaby._

_While you were sleeping I figured out everything,  
I was constructed for you, and you were molded for me.  
Now I feel your name, coursing through my veins.  
You shine so bright its insane; you put the sun to shame._

I felt the tears start to slide down my face. I prayed for my invisibility to remain intact to those around me.

_If you need anything, just say the word.  
I mean anything. (I really do)  
Rest assured, if you start to doze, then I'll tuck you in,  
Plant my lips where your necklaces...close._

With that last verse, I grabbed my things, and ran out of the cafeteria as quickly as possible. I told the office I didn't feel well. I knew with all the tears on my face, no one was going to question me. I left school as fast as my truck would take me. I reached my house and ran up the stairs to my bedroom. I took my small stereo off the desk in my room and nearly threw it into my closet. I gathered up all the CD I could get my hands on and ran back down stairs and out the back door.

I was still crying when I reached the trashcan out back. I broke every single one of those CD's in half and throw them in. My body sank down on the porch slab as I gave way to the hysterical sobs.

Yes, the talent show was absolutely a bad idea.

*************

December

I wasn't sure how I was even functioning. By now, I was simply, and blissfully numb, though I was grateful for the alleviation in the pain. I followed my daily routine without fail every day. I woke up, was at school promptly on time, I did my assignments dutifully; I worked at Newton's whenever I was scheduled, cooked Charlie dinner, and retired to my room as early as he would let me. I was proud of the show I was putting on for Charlie.

It was Friday finally. I wasn't scheduled to work after school and quickly rushed home. Pulling into the driveway, I felt weird. There was something not right about the house. My window seemed to be cracked more than I had left it. As I walked closer to the front door a familiar scent caught my attention. Without thinking I started running forward. I ran to the front door and threw it open as I yelled, "EDWARD? ALICE?"

My excitement was flowing out of me as I started to search through the house constantly yelling their names. The hallway…empty. The kitchen…empty. The living room...**not empty**.

I froze in fear as I saw three unknown vampires standing in front of my couch. I was paralyzed.

The man was very big, tall and thick through the shoulders. His size reminded me of Emmett. Next to him was a beautiful blond who reminded me a lot of Rosalie if she had shorter hair. The second female was as tiny as Alice, with lank, pale brown hair trimmed short. Her wide-eyed, full-lipped face would make a Botticelli angel look like a gargoyle.

She spoke to me then in a high reedy voice as she gestured to each one of her companions letting me know their names. "This is Felix and Heidi. And my name is Jane." She paused a moment and tilted her head to the side like she was pondering something. She then continued, "Guessing from the names that you were screaming now, and the scent that is everywhere in this place, I assuming you know what we are."

She took another pause and then said with more gusto, "And THAT is a problem."


	2. Let's Make A Deal

**Chapter 2: Let's Make A Deal**

**BPOV**

The tiny vampire named Jane was glaring at me as if she could kill me with only her mind. I wasn't complaining, but instead praying they would all stay across the room. The fear that encompassed me was indescribable. The cold scar on my hand was suddenly screaming in pain. I started to back up using slow baby steps when the male named Felix clicked his tongue as if to insinuate to me that leaving was not a good idea.

"Why is she still moving Jane?" He asked in a smug voice.

Jane was still shooting me her death glare when I gazed up at her beautiful face. Her concentration increased with the patronizing comment Felix had shot in her direction. I could no longer will my feet to move, and I knew there was really no point. One of them could have caught me in two seconds, let alone three of them. Instead I just stood there in absolute horror, waiting for the pain to end.

"What the hell is going on here?" Heidi had stepped forward in a fury. She pointed to Charlie's recliner and shouted, "YOU sit down!" I quickly obeyed. The blonde turned back to Jane and waited for an explanation. Stunned was the only way to describe what I was feeling right now. There were three hostile vampires in my living room and yet I was still alive. What on earth were they waiting for?

"You feel nothing? From me, right now, you feel nothing?" Jane was obviously frustrated with the way things were going at this point. But she was right. Was I supposed to be feeling something? "Speak Human!" She snapped at me.

Not willing to make her angrier, I softly said, "No."

"Well this has to be a first Jane. It seems she is immune to you. What would Aro think of this?" Heidi's voice was laced with amusement as she stared at the tiny vampire with a smile on her face. "Do you think that is why they were here? Maybe they sensed her potential?"

At that moment I looked at the clock and realized that Charlie would be home any minute. The new found fear must have betrayed me through my eyes for they immediately noticed the change in my face. Felix used his gruff voice to snap at me, "What is it?"

"D-d-ad." I stuttered. I thought I was going to throw up. My head had become foggy. I could feel the blood leave my face and knew that I was inches from fainting.

"Ladies, we should call Aro. He will be very pleased to hear about this new development. The Cullen's were protecting a human! Not just any human but one with abilities."

I heard both the women gasp before Jane spoke. "NO! You know the law Felix. She knows our secret and she is to die!" My mouth open slightly then to scream, but again my eyes gave away my intentions. Felix fluttered to me at once and placed an enormous hand over my mouth.

"We are taking you with us now. You will not scream!" He paused. "Does he know?"

I shook my head from side to side quickly to show him that I meant what I was saying. My eyes began to plead with him silently. I felt the tears finally over flow from my eyes.

"If you go quietly……We will leave him be." He spoke with so much certainty that I knew he was speaking the truth. I started to stand and except his deal but stopped when I heard Heidi's voice.

"What are you talking about Felix? We aren't taking her with us! She is to be killed! Have you gone totally soft?!"

His eyes turned away from me then and gave both the women a stern look. "Aro will want her! You both know this. I will not endure his wrath when he rips the knowledge from our minds. We will take her to him now! He can decide to keep or kill her then. But I will not make that decision; not knowing the potential effects of it!"

He grabbed me then and threw me stomach down over his shoulder. He started to walk to the back door, but was stopped dead in his tracks. I was flung to the ground as the Emmett sized vampire crumpled to the floor in agony. He was twitching back in forth like he was being electrocuted while his face was contorted in pain. Then as suddenly as it started, it stopped. He pulled himself up from the floor unleashing a growl in the direction of the tiny vampire.

"You are jealous!" he growled at her. "What are you afraid of Jane? Afraid Aro will like his little pet less? She is coming with us!" Again he picked me up with one arm and threw me over his shoulder and ran out the door. I managed to raise my head and watch the scene behind me. Heidi and Jane were following quickly after us as he ran straight for the forest line behind my house. The last thing I noticed before my home, our home, disappeared from view was Charlie's cruiser pulling into the driveway. I started to shake on Felix's shoulder as I felt the black cloud take me under.

**APOV**

"This is ridiculous Edward! You are miserable. I am miserable. This was a huge mistake!"

Edward was on the other end of the phone quietly taking in my latest assault. It was becoming a routine. I would call and beg him to come home and back to our family. I would plead with him to think of how devastated Esme was with her family being ripped apart. I would cry that we could still fix what he did, that it wasn't too late to go back to her. He would remain silent through the entire rant until I brought up going back to Bella. The pain in his voice was unbearable when he spoke then.

"I cannot go back Alice! You don't understand. I'm a monster in so many ways. She deserves better. We are saving her! She will heal from this pain, go on to college, and have a long and happy life. I WILL NOT TAKE THAT FROM HER!"

"What about what she wanted? Does she not get to choose the life she considered to be her happily ever after? She wanted you! She wanted us! How dare you take her away from me. Did you think you were the only one who loved her! I miss her everyday Edward. She was going to be my sister……She was Esme's daughter. Don't you see the pain you have caused us all? Do you even realize what you have done?" My dry sobs would always be the catalyst for the silence that followed.

I would sob and he would stew on the other end before saying with finality, "We are not going back. You will leave her be Alice. Don't look to her future, don't contact her. You will only make her pain worse. Tell Esme I am so sorry for not being there, but I cannot leave Victoria alive to find her. When she is dead, I will try to come back."

And just like that, the phone would click dead and we would all be left again to our pain.

**CHPOV**

"Bells I'm home! I can't smell anything cooking, so do you want me to order a pizza?" I hung my coat and gun on the hook I always safely placed them. I knew with unparalleled certainty that it was safe to leave it out instead of in a safe box upstairs. Bella would never mess with it. Any other teenager I would worry about, but not Bella. To call Bella a normal 18 year old was pretty laughable. Half the time I felt like I was sharing a house with someone of thirty. She was so mature. That thought made me sad.

I realized Bella hadn't answered my question and bounded up the stairs to where she was probably locked in her room staring at the ceiling. She had been putting on a pretty impressive performance lately that I liked to call "Bella pretending she never met him", but I knew the truth. I saw how she refused to listen to music, wouldn't watch TV, go out with her friends, or even take their phone calls. I played along with Bella's performance in the hopes that maybe the acting would one day become reality. In truth I knew she wasn't getting any better. I had told her she could stay after she promised to move past this pain the day Renee had come to take her to Jacksonville. She pretended to do just that. But she wasn't fooling me.

Renee and I had already booked her ticket to Jacksonville last weekend. I told her mother I would break the news to Bella today that she was leaving Forks. I didn't want her to go. I had finally formed a significant relationship with my daughter this last year, and I was torn between my wants and her needs. I knew that it was better for her to leave these memories behind, but I dreaded this conversation all day. I dreaded the following loneliness.

When I reached her room I noticed that her door was already open. She normally locked herself in. My eyes scanned the room, but found it empty. That was odd. I went to her desk and her bedside table to check and see if she had left I note telling me she had plans for the night, but nothing was there. "OK." I muttered. I stopped at the bathroom and it too was empty. "Bella?"

I went into the living room and then to the kitchen. Nothing seemed to be wrong. No items out of place, neither of the doors were left open, and everything looked normal. However, my daughter being gone without so much as letting me know where she had gone to was not normal. Before I would have simply called the Cullen's to tell her to come home, but obviously that wasn't an option. The heavy phone book helped me in my quest to find the number I needed.

"Mrs. Newton, this is Chief Swan. Was Bella scheduled to work today? I see. Have you seen her at all? Is Mike there? Will you ask him if she was at school? She was. Oh okay. Thanks Mrs. Newton." So she did go to school today. Humm that's good. I flipped the page in the book to find another number.

"Can I speak to Jessica please? Yes this is Chief Swan. Have you seen Bella today after school? Do you know where else she might be? No thank you Jessica. No I'm sure everything is fine, she just didn't tell me where she was going. Have a good day." I hung up the phone as my annoyance level rose. I found the number of the last place I could think she would be and dialed the phone.

"Hello Angela. This is Chief Swan. I am looking for Bella. You haven't seen her since school? Yes that seems to be the going theme. Thanks for your help Angela. If you see her, tell her to give me a call. Goodbye." What had gotten into Bella? She was usually so aware of the conclusions I would jump to about everything since I was a cop. This just didn't seem like her.

I went to the couch and turned on the TV. I was angry with her. She knew I would worry. So I focused my attention on the game, and seethed with anger as I waited for her to come home from whatever she felt was more important than my sanity!

Hours went by without a single word from her. It was one o'clock in the morning when I phoned the station and told them something was wrong and I thought Bella was missing. They promised to get right on it and told me to hurry over. Not knowing why, I had an urge to call down to La Push to tell Billy what was happening. Maybe I just needed an old friend's reassurance. I then raced out of the house to go join the search for my daughter.

**BPOV**

I woke from my fainting episode in a luxury car with heavily tinted windows. Heidi was driving the car, while Jane sat in the passenger seat. I looked over to see Felix sitting beside me. He was as far away from me as possible and tilting his face upwards to the window he had cracked just enough to not let the sun come in.

By this point I had basically come to the conclusion that I was dead, so I gathered my strength to ask, "Where are we going? Why didn't you just kill me?"

Jane shot her head around when she heard my voice. Her lips puckered as she contemplated her answer. She still had a smug look on her face that displayed her disappointment for how this situation was going. "Italy. We are taking you to see the elders. You can say it's your judgment day. I would have killed you back at your house for what you know about us. But apparently Felix thinks that your potential entitles you to a choice." She let out a growl and snapped her head back forward. A sweet laugh filled the car from up front as Heidi responded to Jane's mood.

Clenching with all my might, I wrapped my arms around my chest to hold myself together. Did they want information on the Cullen's before they sentenced me to die? I started to hyperventilate as this thought passed through my mind. My breathing increased as I started to rock back and forth on the leather seat. I felt the river of tears flowing to my face, searching for the outlet of my eyes. I wouldn't give away anything about my…family. I had to protect them. If I was dead anyway then I would do everything in my power to keep them safe.

"What is your name?" I looked over slowly to the male voice that asked the question. "Bella" I whispered.

"Since the Cullen's have apparently let you in on our charade of pretending to be normal, I expect you understand what is required of you in the next phase of this journey." I said nothing. What was he talking about? "We are getting on a plane that will take us to Italy. That means we will be around many humans. This requires a certain amount of acting. If you want me to keep my promise of leaving your father be, than you will do exactly what I tell you and play along." I heard myself gulp as I swallowed hard. Charlie…I would do anything for him to survive this. I shook my head while my eyes conveyed to him that I would do as he asked.

"We don't want anyone to become suspicious of want is happening with our situation, so I suggest you pretend we are together. Hold onto my arm as we walk through the airport, and put a smile on your pretty little face. You wouldn't want me to have to deal with security if they began to suspect something was wrong." He smiled at me then. It was disgusting that he thought that was funny! These were absolutely not my brand of vampires.

Softly and slowly I responded. "I will do whatever you ask. I don't want anyone else to die." I had managed to control my tears then. The only emotion he saw radiating from my face when I looked up at him was understanding.

Felix tilted his head to the side and leaned forward into me. I froze thinking he was going to hurt me right then, but he took a deep breath and inhaled my scent. He pulled back and grabbed my shoulder with his huge hand. He laughed at me then when he responded, "Silly girl." He went back to his side of the car and never looked back to me again.


	3. Big Brother

**Chapter 3: Big Brother**

**BBPOV**

"Emily. It's Billy. Sorry to call so late. I need to talk to Sam right now!" I was panicking. My phone call with Charlie had ended only minutes before and I was desperate for answers.

_"Billy, its Charlie. Listen Bella is missing again. I haven't seen her since this morning. The kids say she was at school, but I came home to find the house empty. There was no note saying were she would be, and now she is still not home. I know the boys up there helped out with the search last time, and I was just hoping they would be willing again?"_

_My stomach was turning. This did not sound good. "Of course Charlie. I will call Sam right now. Don't worry. We will find her."_

"Sam we have a problem. Bella Swan is missing again. Charlie said she just disappeared. Yes I was thinking the same thing. Will you and your brothers go out to see if there is a trail? Okay I'll be here waiting." I hung up the phone and stared out the window, just as I heard Jacob approaching behind me. He must have picked up on my conversation and came to investigate. He was getting so tall. It wouldn't be long now.

"What's going on Dad? Bella is lost again?" His voice was mixed with annoyance and concern. It wasn't hard to tell Jacob harbored some lust for Bella. Those feeling had been there since he was a boy playing with her in the mud. When she started hanging out with the Cullen boy, I had forbid Jacob to even go into Forks to see her. He was less than pleased with me, and began shouting that he wasn't a baby anymore and could take care of himself. I honestly thought that argument would have triggered it, but he just stormed off to the beach.

"She isn't lost Jake. We think she is missing." He jerked forward like he was going out the door. I grabbed his hand and shook my head. "You can't do anything right now. If something comes up will let you know. Let Sam and the boys handle it." I felt him rip his hand away from me.

"Sam? I'm sick of hearing about Sam! You all worship the ground he walks on! And for what reason? Oh wait, I remember now. I can't tell you Jake! You're not old enough Jake. I'll tell you one day in the future Jake. Did I cover it all Dad?!" He continued to storm out of the house. I wheeled myself forward and decided to let it go when I saw he was just headed to his garage. Working on that damn car always calmed him down.

It was two hours later when I heard the knock on the door. "Come in Sam." He stepped into the door ducking his head, followed by Paul and Jared. They were all so big. "What did you find?"

"Billy, it doesn't look good. We caught the trail at her house. It was obvious someone had been there as soon as Charlie let us in the door. There were three different scents. We followed the trail out the back and into the forest, but the scents disappeared on the road. They probably had a car waiting to get away in." He paused. I could tell he was struggling with the next thing he would say.

"What is it Sam? Tell me!" I growled.

"It wasn't the Cullen's Billy. These were not vampires that had been here before. He didn't come back for her. Someone came and took her."

**BPOV**

I looked out the windshield and saw the airport coming into view at the top of the hill. Heidi pulled the car into the parking garage and stopped in a secluded spot. "It's show time people." Heidi sang in her brilliant voice. "I'll go pick up our tickets. I'll meet you all at security. Felix, you brought her. She's your responsibility."

The three vampires open their doors and exited the car. I wasn't sure what to do so I stayed in my seat. My door was ripped open and I saw Felix giving me a stern look. He reached into the car with his giant hand and grabbed me by the arm. His grip was strong and I let out a little cry when he pulled me free of the door. He let go of me at the sound of my whimper. My hand shot over to my arm and rubbed the spot that was sure to leave a bruise. His face didn't show regret when I looked up at him in pain. "You Humans are so fragile." He was amused. "It's cruel really."

A shiver went up my spine when I realized I had heard that before from another psychotic vampire. I closed my eyes and composed myself. I had a performance to put on, and if I wanted to protect those around me, than it needed to be flawless. I heard his impatient sigh next to me, but I continued to focus.

Finally feeling I was strong enough to take on the challenge, I opened my eyes. I could do this. I would do this; for Charlie. I straighten my clothes, ran my fingers through my hair, and zipped up my jacket. I brought a tentative smile to my face and then placed my hand in the crook of Felix's arm. He was so tall that I was reaching up quite a bit. A vision of Emmett smiling down at me flashed into my head, and I realized I would pretend he was my big brother protectively leading me through the mass of people. Lately, a vision like this would have brought me to tears. Now, having excepted what was waiting for me, I was going to embrace every possible memory of those that I cared about. This particular vision would protect Charlie, and my love for my brother increased, as did my smile. I heard Felix chuckle as he lead me forward.

We made our way to security where Heidi was waiting with our boarding passes. She handed two to Felix and then one to Jane. I had almost forgotten Jane was with us. She was fuming a few paces behind me the entire length of the airport with a scowl on her face. Heidi looked at me and then spoke. "Well she seems to be following your orders Felix. You would seriously think she was happy to be on your arm." He looked down at me and smiled. Again I saw my big brother.

We reached the security checkpoint and let the two women through the metal detector first. Felix looked down at me thoughtfully. I could tell he was trying to figure out if he should go first. He looked at the two women as I said, "I'll be right behind you Emmett." He shot his head around not understanding why I had just called him anything other than his name. Damn it. I'll have to be careful about that.

He went through the tall rectangle and I followed just as I had promised. I placed my hand back on his arm and let him lead me to our gate. The stewardess checked our boarding passes and sent us down the hallway into the cabin. He led us to our seats at the back of the plane, and I was surprised to see the two women continue through the curtain into first class. He saw the question in my eyes and said, "The flight was almost full. We got the last four tickets. Jane wasn't about to let us have the first class seats."

**APOV **

Jasper was shaking my shoulders and staring at me. "What did you see Alice? Is something wrong?" I threw myself into his arms and buried my face in his chest. He let me stay there till I chose to step away.

"It hasn't happened in so long. When I stopped looking for her, she just wasn't there anymore. And now, I didn't get any pictures, but I clearly heard her voice. She lovingly said…Emmett." I dropped my face in my hands and sighed. "What does it mean Jazz?"

"I don't know Alice. You said yourself that she didn't sound upset. Maybe she will just have a good memory of him; of all of us." His hands were stroking my hair as he held me.

She was remembering my brother with love in her voice. The thought made me smile. Emmett had always brought a smile to her face. She told me once he was the brother she always wanted.

Jasper was leading me into the kitchen so I could relay what had just happened to the family present. I knew this might bring some of them comfort, as it had I. My pain faltered a little as I hoped this was a sign that Bella would be okay after all.

**CHPOV**

There was still no sign of her. We had no leads, and nowhere else to look. How was I going to call her mother and tell her that I had lost our baby girl? The pain and panic was growing with every minute she was gone. Everyone at the station was staring at me with pity. I couldn't take it anymore. I stood up so abruptly the chair fell over. "Let me know if you come across anything. I'm going to La Push."

It was only a ten or fifteen minute drive up the road to the reservation, but it seemed to be taking an eternity. I pulled into the driveway of the tiny house, and could see Billy's reflection in the window. I could have sworn her was waiting for me.

I reached the door and raise my hand to knock, only to have the door swing open before I had the chance. "Charlie, is there anything new?" His eyes betrayed him with the same pity that reflected in everyone that looked at me. They seemed to all have given up hope like there was nothing left for us to do.

"Did the boys come across anything in the forest? A piece of clothing, some footprints or anything? Please tell me they found something Billy! ANYTHING!" The Quileute boys brought Bella back to me so quickly last time that I literally expected to show up at La Push and see them holding her. They found her once. They could do it again. Right? "Billy, PLEASE! Say something. Tell me they found her!"

He looked helpless. He voice was pained when he answered, "I'm sorry Charlie. Sam tried, but there was no sign of her anywhere. We'll keep looking. We'll help you search wherever you want."

A movement on the couch rattled me then. Sam stood up and strode over to the front door in two steps. I wasn't expecting the passionate response that came out of his mouth. "I'm so sorry Charlie. We failed her. We failed you!" He looked back once at Billy completely ashamed and then pushed past me outside to disappear in seconds.

**BPOV**

It was really loud in the back of the plane where our seats were located. The humming from the engine was giving me a huge headache. I squinted my eyes tightly trying to control the throbbing in my brain. However, the pain was keeping my thoughts at bay and for that I was grateful and almost welcoming to it. I never let my resolve to protect my family…either family, waver. I was going to be strong. I had no other choice. Being weak, helpless Bella was not an option. They could take my life, but I would give away nothing to hurt my family. He might not want me anymore, but I would literally love all of them, even _him_, until I took my last breath.

There was a sharp poke on by upper arm then. I ignored it. What would he do, kill me in front of all these people? The poke came again, and again. The fourth time I opened my eyes only because I knew the pokes would only get harder."You called me Emmett." He whispered. "That wasn't the name you were screaming for at your house. Emmett is the second son isn't he? But who is Alice?"

I didn't know what to do, but I certainly did not want to talk about this with him. I kept my face forward. "That's fine Bella. You don't have to tell me your secrets. You should know however that none of your thoughts will be kept away from me for long. All will be revealed in due time. There are no secrets from Aro."

I took a moment to absorb what he was saying. In his rant to Jane and Heidi, he had told them that Aro would rip the memories out of their heads. Was he like _him_? Would he be able to read my mind? _His _power never penetrated my thoughts, nor was the tiny vampire able to hurt me using whatever her gift was. But Alice could always see me in her visions, and Jasper could control my emotions. This meant I had absolutely no way of knowing who could breach my block and who could not. Damn, what an unreliable ability.

The previous train-of-thought made me realize something; Alice could see me. Could she see me in trouble? Why hadn't she came back to protect me from these foreign vampires? Shame spread over me as soon as I allowed these thoughts in. This was nobody's fault. I didn't blame her for me being taken. I couldn't blame her for not coming to rescue me. In fact, the thought of her being here with these crazy vampires with the intent to challenge them made me sick to my stomach, and I was glad that for once, I had no savior.

No, no one else needed to die. I would do as I was told and save the family that I'd love so unconditionally from the start.

The cold marble on my face jilted me then. The images came rushing to me in unedited sequence. I saw all their faces smiling at me with love and acceptance.

_"Bella don't you dare start! I will be here every morning to help you get dressed until you no longer need me. I love you. We're going to be sisters one day you'll see."_

_"You haven't changed at all, I expected a perceptible difference, but here you are, re-faced just like always! I have to step out for a second- Don't do anything funny while I'm gone."_

_"What I enjoy the very most is when my enhanced abilities let me save someone who would otherwise have been lost. It's pleasant knowing that, thanks to what I can do, some people's lives are better because I exist."_

_"I can feel what you're feeling now- and you are worth it!"_

_"Edward was the first of my new sons. I've always thought of him that way, even though he's older than I, in one way at least. That's why I'm so happy that he's found you dear. He's been the odd man out for far too long: it hurt me to see him alone"_

_"I'm not going anywhere. I'll be right here as long as you need me."_

I felt a cold hand shove me over in my seat. I open my eyes a little confused at what was going on. "You feel asleep on my shoulder. Your blood was beginning to be too much. I was however enjoying you talking. Do all human talk in their sleep?" He wanted me to answer. Why was he making small talk?

"Not all humans." I whispered.

"You said Edward that time, and then Emmett." He waited for a response in my face. "Later you said 'She likes me?' But my personal favorite was the way your face showed real pain as 'he's gone' escaped your lips. You humans are strange. You would think you had real feelings for all of them. Why would they let you in like this? Carlisle was with the elders. He is more aware of the laws then anyone. This just doesn't make sense."

My stubbornness kicked in then as the anger flashed over me. "I'm not talking to you about my family!" Wait, I shouldn't have said that. Shit Bella.

"Your FAMILY? You cannot be serious. Oh this is hilarious. You do realize that 'your family' was nowhere to be found back there right? We were sent there to see Carlisle. When we couldn't find them we followed their scent. That's how we found you. Where was your FAMILY when their trail lead us right to you?"

"Why are you taking me to Italy? Why take me across the world to kill me? Why drag it out?"

"You're not dead yet Bella."


	4. Multiple Personalities

**Chapter 4: Multiple Personalities**

**BPOV**

"You're not dead yet Bella." The way he spoke those words sent a chill down my body. It felt as if he was attempting to convey sympathy towards me, but really all he accomplished was making my Emmett illusions dissipate. I saw him clearly then. This wasn't my huge teddy bear of a brother protecting me from my aggressor. I wanted to still believe that my family was here with me, somehow guarding me from the world as well as myself. I was doing a pretty good job of maintaining my deception, but those few words opened my eyes again to the reality of the last three months. Emmett was gone. Alice was gone. My Edward was gone. There would be no Cullen here to save me this time.

Tightly I closed my eyes to keep in the emotion, but it was pointless in the end. The tears were streaming down my face disobediently. At the site of my waterworks, Felix shifted nervously at my side.

"Bella, stop that. You're going to draw attention to yourself, and I know you don't want that." He started to pat my leg, but thought better of it. He began to look around with fear that people would be concerned about my tears. "Look I don't understand these emotions. Are you scared, or sad maybe? What will make you stop crying?" This time his hand touched my leg softly. Without thinking I violently threw my body away from his touch. "What is your problem?" he snapped. "I've done nothing to hurt you whatsoever. I even saved your father!"

"I know you did, and I'm so thankful for that. I can't help it, I'm just scared."

"Humans are supposed to be scared of us Bella, but you're not a normal human obviously. You consider a whole coven of us to be your family!" I could tell he was disgusted at the idea. He looked away from me shaking his head.

"But I know them. I trust them." I managed to utter. Another unexpected reflection showed its ugly head when I silently thought, _At least I thought I knew them. _He was still staring at me incredulously from the corner of his eyes as I said, "I'll be good now. I'm done feeling sorry for myself. I just want to get this over with okay?"

The "Buckle Your Seat Belt" light came on and we both obeyed. The plane began to make its descent then. I felt the jolt as the wheels touched the runway and sighed at what the future was sure to hold. Felix stood and held his hand out to me. I took it of course. What else was I supposed to do? We made our way out of the plane and through the airport, and he never relinquished my hand. Outside I was surprised to see a long black limousine waiting to pick us up. Felix climbed into the car first and fluidly pulled me in to sit right next to him. He let go of my hand only long enough to place it in the crook of his arm. Jane and Heidi were sitting across from us already; Jane shooting daggers at me, while Heidi still seemed amused at the situation. As we pulled away from the airport I felt sick to my stomach. My ever transparent face displayed my fears and Felix softly chuckled at my side. Stupid smug vampire.

**EPOV**

_She was precious, like a flower._

_She grew wild, wild with innocence._

_A perfect pray in a desperate hour._

_She was everything beautiful, and different._

If I wasn't indestructible I would literally die now of a broken heart. The loneliness and despair was so unbearable, and crippling. I had hunted Victoria for over three months now. It would be putting it lightly to say that I was not the best tracker. She was a very cunning creature who seemed to have a knack for escape. I had followed her here to Texas only to find that she had most likely laid a false trail. She must be miles away now, and I had no idea where to go from here. I was standing in Fort Worth outside a sports bar of some sort. At least that's what I thought it was. I had come over to listen to the minds of the people inside, trying to see if anyone had noticed her. The thoughts of these people were strange. It was like a different planet down here.

Frustrated and thoroughly annoyed, I started to leave when I heard the damn song. I never liked this kind of music, and now it was like this song was written as my own personal hell.

_She laid her heart and soul right in your hands._

_And you stole her every dream, and crushed her plans._

The guilt of what I had done to my personal angel took hold of me. I told her I loved her, and that I would never leave her. I made promises to her that I broke cleanly with one little lie. The pain I caused with my absence was nothing compared to the way I took my sweet and trusting Bella and crushed every ounce of faith in me that she had so willingly given. I was the worst kind of monster. I was saving her from me now, but only after I had dazzled her into believing in me; into loving me.

_You stupid boy._

_Ohh you always had to be right._

_Now you've lost the only thing that ever_

_Made you feel alive._

I took off running to the woods to flee the lyrics. But just as it always did, my 'gift' wouldn't let me escape things it truly felt I needed to hear. When I reached the woods and was safely away from eye site, I fell to the ground and literally curled into a ball. My beautiful Bella. What have I done?

_She loved me, she loved me, she loved me,_

_Oh God please let her know._

_I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry._

**CPOV**

We continued to search everyday for Bella. There had been more search parties out into the forests, with almost everyone in town involved. When I had called Renee she screamed out in hysterics. Phil immediately made flight plans and they were in Forks within hours. I felt useless. I was the chief of police damn it and I had no idea where to go from here. We had no leads, no clues, we weren't even sure if she had run away or kidnapped. My heart had not hurt this bad since Renee had took our baby and left me in Forks to care for my parents. She was so upset then when I had refused to leave this town with her. I wanted frantically to do whatever was required to make her happy, but leaving my parents to care for themselves was one request I couldn't grant. I felt that I failed her on so many levels all these years. I never forgave myself really.

And here she was again, in pain because of me. I opened Bella's door at the top of the stairs to see Renee curled up on her bed crying. She was clutching Bella's pillow and sobbing loudly. I was frozen in the doorway. I had no words for her at all.

She had apparently heard me open the door since she then cried out, "Where is my baby Charlie? Where is she? We were supposed to take care of her!" Her sobbing became hysterical again. I felt her new husband push past me and go to her. He wrapped her up in his lap and gave me an apologetic look. I hated to admit that I liked that guy. If I couldn't take care of her, then at least he could.

The knock on the door sent me running down the stairs. I pulled the door open without a single thought as to who was waiting on the other side. Billy was looking up at me with care and concern.

"Hey, Charlie. I wanted to come by and check on things. Is it alright if I came in for awhile?" I pulled the door farther open to let Jacob pull Billy through the threshold. We went into the living room, and it was apparent that Billy had something on his mind. "Charlie, do you have any way of getting hold of the Cullen's?"

"The Cullen's?" I said a little shocked. "Why do you ask? Do you think they have something to do with this? Like they took her? Or are you thinking she ran away with him? I know my daughter a little better than that. Bella's wouldn't put me through this on purpose."

"I don't think they have anything to do with it Charlie. I only ask because I thought maybe they would like to know what is going on." He shot a glance at Jacob then. I was justifiably under the belief that the guys down at the Reservation had some sort of grudge against the Cullen family, so his interest in them was strange.

"I don't know what you're getting at Billy, but after they left, Bella never heard from them again. He never called once. Dr. Cullen had told the hospital he was taking a job in L.A. That's the only information she ever got about where they might be."

He shook his head in a very disappointed fashion. He looked again at Jacob and said, "Jacob just thought Edward would want to know what has happened, is all. Nothing to stress over, Charlie." Jacob pressed his lips together in a hard line. He didn't like that last comment.

**BPOV **

I had no idea where we were when the car stopped. Felix leaned over, took another deep whiff of me and said, "Welcome to Volterra Italy." He got out of the car and pulled me with him. We were standing next to a building that reminded me of a huge bank. I was thoroughly confused with why we would be here, but I kept quiet and let Felix lead me into the extremely fancy lobby. We all approached an elevator and stepped inside. We went two floors up before I heard the elevator ding. It was then that Felix ripped his hand away from mine. *The door opened and we stepped into what looked like a posh office reception area. The walls were paneled in wood, the floors carpeted in thick, deep green. There were no windows, but large, brightly lit paintings of the Tuscan countryside hung everywhere as replacements. Pale leather couches were arranged in cozy groupings, and the glossy tables held crystal vases full of vibrantly colored bouquets. (NM, Stephanie Meyer)

In the center of the room stood a large mahogany reception desk where a human sat. This was absolutely a shock. Jane rushed over to a boy that could be her twin and gave him a huge. "Alec. I've missed you." It was weird and very creepy to see the tiny vampire smiling. She had done nothing but give me the death glare since I met her. Alec had a very curious look on his face when he noticed me standing slightly behind Felix.

"What is this Jane?" He questioned. She was about to speak when Felix cut her off.

"We should take this matter directly to Aro, Jane. Alec can come along of course, but Aro should be made aware of this before anyone else."

The tiny twin vampires nodded, with Jane returning her face to the ugly scowl position. Jane walked forward and the others followed. I didn't move at first. "Come." Was all Felix said to me when he turned around to beckon me forward.

Holding hands, the twins lead us down a wide ornate hallway. They stopped in front of what seemed like nothing, before Alec slid a piece of paneling to the side to reveal a wooden door. He pushed it open and allowed Jane to walk through, before the rest of us followed. It was a room of stone; like that which you would expect to find in an ancient castle. I was scared as soon as I observed my surroundings. This was a place straight out of a horror film that was for sure. Some of the other vampires inside called Jane's and Heidi's name out excited to see their return. Heidi smiled to all of them sweetly before speaking, "Gentlemen, can you please go ask Aro to grace us with his company. Tell him we bring news from our visit to Carlisle. Oh, and let him know we have also brought a surprise along." She looked back at me still smirking.

**Billy's POV **

"I know they wouldn't go to L.A Sam. I'm simply relaying the information that Charlie was given. The Dr. told the hospital that he was taking a job in L.A. That's the reason they gave everyone for their departure." I was just as frustrated as Sam. He was eaten up with guilt that the pack had not stopped the three vampires from stealing Bella straight out of her house. For days he had lead the pack out into the woods searching in vain for a way to track down the strangers. We didn't know why vampires would capture a human instead of simply killing them, but Sam was taking that as a reason for hope.

He had brought up the idea, that if we got a hold of the Cullen's they could come help in the search. I knew that Carlisle was very old, so the thought was he might find one of the scents familiar and perhaps know where to start looking. The effort to track the Cullen's down however was proving to be very difficult. Just to be sure, I had called every hospital in L.A. looking for Dr. Cullen. Not surprisingly, he was not to be found at any of them.

"Look, we'll keep looking. Maybe they will show up again soon. I saw the way he looked at Bella. I'm not sure he would be able to stay away forever." I patted Sam on the back as he walked out the door before calling Jacob in from the garage. He came bounding up to the porch looking like he had grown six inches within the hour. That boy was huge now. I was still shocked that he hadn't changed yet.

I pushed those thoughts out of my head quickly. I couldn't even imagine if this was Jacob right now feeling like a failure to Charlie and Bella. I'm not sure he would recover from that, given his long standing feelings for her. Before, I was frustrated that the change was taking so long in him, but recent events made me appreciate the time I had left to keep Jake innocent. I didn't want him carrying around this burden. Bella may very well be dead, and I was glad Jake had no reason to blame himself.

**BPOV**

"Jane, dear one, you're returned." The man that came through the door then was not like any vampire I had seen before. He had long black hair, yet his skin was by far the palest out of all of them. It had an appearance of paper, almost translucent. His eyes were red; the same as the others around him, but the color was clouded, milky. I don't know why, but all of these features made him seem very old. This must be one of the elders. "Please tell me you found my old friend Carlisle well?"

"Actually Master, we did not find them. However, due to the circumstances, I think if would be better for you to get the story out of Felix." She was smiling mischievously trying to hold back a chuckle. The black haired man seemed to notice me then. His head angled to the side as he stared at me questionably.

Heidi let out a little laugh and spoke. "Aro, this is your surprise!" The little bouncing thing she was doing reminded me of Alice anytime I would let her dress me.

"You brought me a human? As a surprise?" Aro asked questionably. "Humm, well Jane, shall I take your advice and let Felix show me what is going on here?" Aro turned his gaze to Felix and held out his hand. "Felix, old friend, let me see."

When he glanced over at me, he looked very hesitate to take Aro's hand. I was a little taken back. I expected Aro to possess the talents equal to Edwards, but he didn't seem to be hearing any of their thoughts. He would surely already be able to know what had happened just by listening to their minds, but his confusion confirmed my suspicions.

Felix stepped forward to take Aro's hand in the end, and they stood there in complete silence as everyone watched. Finally, Aro stepped away and chuckled. "Well this in very interesting indeed. Where to begin. I have so many questions." He looked over at Jane and smiled. "This must be very frustrating for you indeed Jane, but don't you agree it is rather intriguing."

From the look of shear panic that came across Jane's face, there was no question that she was anything but intrigued by what I was able to do to her.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves though. First, you did not come across the Carlisle and his coven. You pretty much are in agreement that they have moved on from forks. While retreating, you came across their scent leading to a house and that is where our visitor comes in. Is that correct?"

Felix decided he needed to clarify a few points then I suppose. "Master, while at the permanent residence of the Cullen's, we caught a very strong smell of a human. It was all over the house, completely wrapped in their scent. This brought on some curiosity as to why a human would be at the house of vampires. It didn't take long for us to find a trail that held numerous scents of vampires. Again we were curious, so we followed it. The trail led through the forest straight to a house. We let ourselves in naturally, and noticed again that we found multiple vampire scents intertwined with the human smell. Before we could even stop to consider the implications of this, the girl came running through the door frantically shouting the name of Carlisle's companion." He stopped and turned to me, "Edward wasn't it?"

I of course did not respond with a single word, but stood there with a huge frown on my face. Felix seemed to be amused by all of this. This was Dr. Jekle and Mr. Hyde vampire. Not only was he crazy, but apparently he had multiple personalities.

"We inferred naturally that she was in on our little charade after all these clues fell into place. She would have been disposed of right then of course, but when Jane had no effect of her, I figured that is something you might want to see for yourself." He finished his monologue and then took a few steps back and away from me.

"Well that is something I will have to see," Aro exclaimed gleefully. "Go on Jane, give it a try." He waved his hand in my direction instructing her to begin. Jane squeezed her face very hard in concentration then, before letting a gasp out when her attempts proved futile. Aro was ecstatic. "Excellent! This is wonderful." He turned his head to me and asked, "And you felt nothing at all?"

I slightly shook my head from side to side, but otherwise said nothing.

"Well let's skip ahead to what was going on with the coven and our visitor shall we. Felix has shown me your name is Bella. Well Bella, please tell me your ties to my old friend." He stood there expecting me to answer his question without fail. Apparently he wasn't used to people not doing exactly what he wished. I however, was not giving away anything about my Family. I stood there silent with my hand crossed over my chest.

"Ah yes, Felix thought you were going to be stubborn about this. Bring her to me Felix." I felt my body jerk forward as Felix pulled me closer to Aro. He grabbed my arm and forced me to hold my hand out to him. Aro took it without hesitation.

"Humm, well you shouldn't be so hard on yourself Jane. Apparently I have no effect on her either. What a treat you have brought me indeed Felix." He patted him on the back and gave him a smile. He spoke then to Felix softly. "I've seen your wavering feelings Felix. Therefore I think I can trust you to take care of her without ending it. You can begin as soon as you are ready."

I was spun around then as Felix placed his hand on my shoulder to lead me out of the room. We walked through the doorway back into the hallway before Felix took my hand again and quietly whispered in my ear, "I knew you would be able to save yourself."


	5. Death Sentence

**Chapter 5: Death Sentence**

**BPOV**

I don't know what came over me, or how I managed to pull out of my fear inspired trance, but once I did I was on fire. I jerked my hand away from Felix before screaming at him, "Tell me what is going on now! What do you mean I saved myself?"

Felix stood across the hallway from me with a look of disbelief on his face. It took him a few seconds to respond from my sudden outburst. "Bella, he's given me permission to change you. This way you don't have to die."

Quickly I turned around and ran back toward the open wooden door. Aro was standing in the center of the room with a circle of vampires, including Jane and Heidi, surrounding him. At the sound of my approaching footsteps the circle fanned out into a line with the elder at the center. Aro stepped forward two steps and spoke, "Bella. Is there something you wish to discuss?"

"Why are you turning me? Why not just kill me? Jane said I had a choice, but you gave me no say in this!" I shouted. Jane hissed at me from Aro's side, and all the others looked as though they could pounce on me for speaking to him that way. Aro put up his hand up to silence those around him.

"Peace dear ones. Bella deserves her answers. Your gift is very unique. I have never seen a vampire thwart Jane's ability, nor mine. And if that wasn't shocking enough Bella, you are only human. The capabilities of your power once they are enhanced through the change could be astounding. I am ever so curious to see how you turn out."

"So that's it. I become a vampire or I die?" I asked exposing my fury.

"Bella let us be honest with each other. You might not care to share with us the extent of your relationship with Carlisle and his 'family', but I can guess. That being said, we have a few humans here in our establishment, and I can assure you that not a single one of them isn't here with the hope that one day we will grant them immortality. You could not have had a relationship with vampires without this thought popping into your pretty little head. Do you deny that immortality has crossed you mind?"

"No I guess not." I let the words escape my lips before I could stop them. I used to dream about eternity with Edward and my family. I had practically begged for him to change me countless times, only to be denied. He wanted me to live my life fully as a human, even going to great measures to guarantee that I did. Every time he insisted that I have normal human experiences it usually involved something that I had no desire to do. The aspiration he possessed to protect my humanity infuriated me then. Now, forever without Edward just terrified me.

"Our secret is protected through punishment of death Bella. So yes, your assumption is correct that this is your only option. I don't understand at the moment the actions of Carlisle, but I am giving you what they obviously failed to grant. This is a gift." His irritation with me was beginning to radiate off him.

I felt a strong hand on my arm as my feet were suddenly pulled off the ground. Felix's scooped me up and threw me over his shoulder like a caveman. He turned and faced Aro giving me a view only of the door I had just stormed back through. Since I could see nothing, I heard only Felix speak. "I will take care of her Aro. She is just a little shocked. Given a firm offer, I think she will see things our way. I'll let you know when I have some news." Before I knew it we were no longer in the stone room. Felix was walking down the hallway swiftly, ignoring everyone who spoke to him. I was literally being given the single thing I craved all last summer, but the thought of it no longer brought me joy.

Edward had mentioned the pain was excruciating during the change. I had always thought of it as an opportunity cost. I knew that I would be in agony, but it was a temporary penalty before I woke up next to my soul mate. Where was my soul mate now? No, I would be alone and trapped in eternity without the one my heart longed for. The tears were flowing freely, leaving wet spots on the back of Felix's shirt. No amount of energy I exerted could stop them from falling. I felt so alone.

**APOV**

"Carlisle, La Push is searching for us. I saw a long haired, wheel chair bound, Quileute calling around to L.A hospitals. He was then telling a boy who looked like him that they would keep searching for us. Then someone walked in and the vision went black. Why are they trying to track us down?" I had rushed into my father's study to explain my latest vision. He sat very quietly pondering the possible meaning of it.

"Call the others into the living room please Alice." He ordered calmly. "Let us discuss this together." I swiftly ran out the door to gather my siblings and Esme. Sitting in various locations within the living room, we eagerly awaited for Carlisle to come down stairs. He finally joined us after making a phone call.

"I just spoke to Edward. He agrees with me that the wolves are probably looking for us to discuss something about the treaty. But seeing as how we are no longer located in Forks, we see no reason to go into the matter presently. Alice, do you see them locating us?"

"No. They will continue to search for us, but I don't see them being successful at the moment." I sighed disheartedly. I was hoping that we would go back home to meet with the tribe. If we made it home, even for a few days, maybe we could stay and I would be able to see Bella. I started to get mad at Edward again. How could he think this wasn't worth pursuing?

"Very well, we will continue as we are." Carlisle stated.

"But what if something is wrong? Why would we take this chance? Let's contact them at least!" I shouted at him in anger. Why was I the only one still thinking of Bella? I pulled the silver phone out of my pocket, flipped it open and hit send on the familiar number.

"Wait Alice don't. You can't keep having the same conversation with him!" I could tell that Carlisle was over listening to me confront Edward about his choices, but I wasn't backing down now.

"Edward Cullen your selfishness and stupidity continue to astound me! How can you not think this vision is important? What if something is wrong with Bella and they are trying to find you! Did that every cross you mind! Does her safety mean nothing to you anymore? Answer me you coward!" I heard him sigh heavily on the other end before the phone disconnected. I spun around in absolute fury.

"He hung up on me!" I had already started to call him back when Carlisle's phone vibrated.

"Edward, yes son I asked her not too. I agree too. I know we will do as you wish, for as long as it is still your wish. Are you sure son? Very well. Edward? Please come home soon. Esme misses you every day, we all do. Yes I will tell her. Good bye son." He hung up the phone looking at me skeptically.

"Alice, I agree with Edward that there is no reason to jump to conclusions here. I know what you're thinking, and if we go back and then have to leave again, it will only cause her more pain. It's time you let this go. This is Edward's choice and he is still holding to it. We will do as he wishes."

I couldn't take this any longer. I ran to Jasper and looked him straight in the eye. Words were not necessary. He knew what I wanted immediately. He nodded and I turned to speak. "We're leaving." Everyone in the room gasped, and Esme began to sob. "I will not stay here any longer and watch this family crumble under Edward's bad judgment. He is off doing God knows what, and we are left here to deal with the aftermath. How is that fair? No, I've had enough of this. I will leave Bella be, but I'm tired of pretending that I am not hurting. I will stay in touch Esme, and we love you, but I can't be here right now."

**BPOV**

The room he brought me to was thick stone, and its appearance was as terrifying as the last one. There was a twin size bed in the corner that he sat me down on. I went to the farthest corner of it and brought my legs to my chest, wrapping my arms tightly around them. I was crying hard into my knees for a long time before Felix spoke to be from across the room.

"I'm sorry about the room Bella. I had to bring you here to hide your screams. I'm sure it's very frightening to you." He stared deep into my eyes, penetrating my sadness. "I don't want to do this while you are freaking out. It will be better for you in the end if you relax and accept what is happening. This is the only thing that will save you Bella. There is no other option but death. Tell me what you are thinking. Are these tears from sadness or fear? Let me help you come to terms with this."

Honestly, I didn't know what emotions to tell him my tears stemmed from. I was scared of course, sad that this was not how I pictured this happening, mad that Edward let me be changed by anyone other than him, and then there was the loneliness. I think I cried the most over the loneliness. I pictured waking up to the smiling faces and warm embraces of seven familiar vampires. They would tell me how happy they were to have me in their family, and I would be excited for my new life. Edward would teach me everything I needed to know about being an immortal and we would be together blissfully for eternity. Now, I was sitting on a dirty bed, in a thick stone room, across from someone who was not Edward. I wanted him by my side so bad to help me through this, but he didn't want me anymore. No, I was alone.

I calmed my tears and stuttered out the words to Felix. "I'm s-s-scared, and s-sad. But mostly I'm m-m-mad at hi-i-m!" The tears came back full force then, and flowed uncontrollably. The bed shook a little and I was surprised when Felix reached over to place his hand on my arm. I looked up into his concerned face. The sincerity in it brought my shield down slightly, and I wanted to tell him what I was feeling.

"This was supposed to be him. I was supposed to wake up to him. I know the pain will be excruciating, but it was always worth it to wake up to him. But he doesn't want me anymore. What do I do with forever if he isn't here?" I put my head back down on my arm, but the tears didn't start again. Just releasing even those few thoughts gave me a small bit of peace. His hand moved around to my back, he rubbed it a few times before he pulled me into his chest fluidly with one arm.

"Bella, I'm sorry you are sad. He should never have left you human knowing what you did. That was a death sentence for you. The whole thing infuriates me!" He paused to calm back down. "I saved you from that fate Bella, because I could see you were worth it. I'm sorry he didn't realize it. I might not be him, but I'll be here when you wake up. I'll help you through this. Let me take care of you Bella."

With great effort, I pulled back from his chest. I stared deep into his eyes for a long moment searching for truth. They were rock solid in his resolve. I whispered, "Ok" as I closed my eyes. His arms wrapped around me again and he helped me lay back on the bed.

"I'm going to bite you more than once Bella so the venom will spread faster. As you know, this is going to hurt. When you wake up, I will be right here. I'm not leaving you. Close your eyes when you are ready."

My breathing steadied as I took the time to remember every single Cullen face individually. I saved Edward's for last. I memorized every line and curve, burning it into my memory. I wanted to remember them, regardless if they wanted to remember me. Finally, I took a deep breath and shut my eyes slowly. Felix leaned in and ran his hand over my cheek before he put his mouth to my wrist and bit down.


	6. Burning Revelations

**Chapter 6: Burning Revelations**

**BPOV**

The sensation that overtook me once Felix bit into my flesh was strange. He bit into my right wrist first barely lingering to consume my blood. He released my arm quickly, leaving the wound with a slight tingling sensation. I was focusing on the prickling as he gently grabbed my left wrist and sank his teeth into my skin a second time. I was hoping that was going to be the last bite, only to be surprised as I felt his sharp teeth again on my right and then my left ankle. The burning exposed itself then. It started in my right wrist and I could feel in it every one of my extremities. The fire seemed to be moving to the center of my body threatening to burn me to a charcoal briquette. I gritted my teeth and tried to hold in the screams of agony as the burning reached up to my face.

I was completely on fire then. To say this pain was merciless was the biggest understatement of eternity. Nothing could have prepared me for the physical anguish that was engulfing me completely and entirely. My body was wretching and bucking as I screamed louder than I thought possible. As a flung my body around, I caught sight of Felix sitting in the corner, eyeing me with concern. "IT BURNS!!" I shouted at him.

I narrowed in on his footsteps as he approached my bedside. His hands were like ice when he positioned them on my arm. It was very soothing. Dying for relief from the fire, my other hand reached for him, seizing his chest and trying to pull him to me. "Hold me! It BURNS!" He conceded to the look of desperation in my eyes. His arms wrapped around me and I felt myself go limp as he clutched me tightly. The relief was immediate. Backwards onto the bed we fell as he tucked me under his arm. With the fire quenched slightly, I drifted from reality into the black void.

Having any grasp on time was unattainable. I could have been lying there for days and I wouldn't have known it. The darkness kept pulling me back to the depths of the deep chasm. My attempts to open my eyes were useless. I struggled to hold onto the memories I desperately wanted to keep. They played continuously in my mind like the movie did months before. I tried to keep out all the pain away by focusing on the happiness the memories held. In spite of this, opening the flood gates let in the bad memories in that I'd rather forget. Edward's face was almost real as he told me once again that he didn't want me anymore. I must have screamed out again because I felt my ice blanket react.

******************

Familiar voices came from across the room. "Felix, how is our new member doing? I no longer hear her screams; it won't be much longer now."

"She is strong Aro. She screams only a little, and barely ever says their names anymore. Her heart still beats, but I expect it won't be long now."

"Look how stunning she is, Felix. She is indeed a treat. You did well dear one. Bring her to me when she is awake and calm. After her outburst before, I expect her to be one hell of a newborn. You will have your work cut out for yourself friend."

I couldn't take the fire that had return to my body any longer. Forcing myself to sit upright, I locked eyes with the conversing men and yelled, "Felix, Don't leave me! It Burns!" I saw him rush to me before he wrapped his ice body back around me. I could have sworn I heard a faint chuckle before I collapsed again into the blackness.

**APOV**

"She's in pain Jasper, such pain. I can't see anything again, but I feel her pain. This has gone on long enough, I'm going to Forks. I know the wolves are contacting us for a reason, and I'm tired of following Edward's wishes." I turned to pack some of our things before he grabbed the bag and my hand to lead me out the door. I could always count on Jasper to take my side. He was my other half in every sense of the expression. Right or wrong, Jasper would follow me anywhere.

We had been staying in Alaska with the Denali clan. As much as I wanted to prove my point when I left home to 'get away from it all', I still couldn't imagine being completely severed from my family. That's what brought us to Tanya and her sisters. We knew they would welcome us with open arms, and they did so whole heartedly. I was now thankful for our close proximity to Washington.

The ride there was quick at the speeds Jasper was traveling. Rainy and cold, the weather in Forks seemed to be embracing our return. The huge house tucked away in the trees was a beacon calling to my soul and I rejoiced at the feeling of being back where my heart pulled me. We sat in the car as a flipped my phone open and hit 411. I asked for the number of Billy Black and sat frustrated as I waited for the operator to connect the line.

"Hello, this is Alice Cullen. I know you have been trying to contact us. Jasper and I our back in town and we want to meet with you. Yes that is fine. Twenty minutes then. Great." I clicked the phone closed and turned to my husband. "They are meeting us in the clearing in twenty minutes. He offered no information on the phone."

Jasper looked very nervous. "Alice, I don't like the idea of meeting them without Carlisle. Can you not see how this will turn out?"

"No, it's weird but I can't. It is almost like the meeting is not going to happen, though clearly we know it will. The vision before was odd too. I saw Billy, who is the one in the wheelchair, and then his son. The front door started to open as if someone else was coming into the house and then the vision just cut off. Between not seeing now and not being able to see Bella anymore, I'm seriously beginning to question my ability. I figured that I couldn't see Bella clearly anymore since her future is no longer tied to ours. But, since I apparently have the same issue with the wolves too, it makes me question my previous theory. This is so frustrating Jazz!"

"Don't worry Alice. It will be fine. Take all this positively. This is helping us better understand the capabilities of your visions. Don't stress out about it. Now, let's get going so we can beat them there." We started to sprint in the direction of the clearing, which was in the forest behind the house. As we passed Edwards old bedroom window, I stopped dead in my tracks.

"Someone has been here Jazz. Do you smell it? It's faint, but it's still there."

"Yes," he said. "There was more than one." Jasper was considerably shaken with this new turn of events. Wait, maybe it was just me freaking out and him projecting it. I took a moment to attempt to calm myself and I felt him send a wave to help me. Bless my Jasper.

I whispered to him in a very low voice, "This is why they were calling us. Something is not right Jasper. We need to get to the wolves right now." Without speaking any further, we took off toward the direction of the waiting Quileute's.

It was very evident they were there by the stench coming from our final destination. We stopped running as we reached the edge of the trees, and slowly walked out into the open. There were two wolves in the center of the field standing behind a tall boy who was wearing only a pair of sweat pants. I took a step forward and Jasper grabbed my hand to pull me back. The look on his face told me he was very wary of this encounter.

"We're not going to hurt you. We promise. Something has happened, and I think you need to know about it." The boy yelled from across the field. Jasper released my hand as I began my journey toward the group.

"Tell me what is going on!" I nearly shouted. The boy dropped his head in what appeared to be shame. I looked back at the wolves to see them hunched over a bit in defeat. Their mannerisms terrified me for a moment, before the calm wave took me over again. I felt tranquil by the time the boy spoke a second time.

"We have been trying desperately to find you. Almost three months after you left, Bella turned up missing. At first I assumed she was lost in the woods just like the first time I found her, but we uncovered no trace of her. We found the scent of three vampires leading away from her house. We followed it all the way through the forest until it stopped at the road. We believe she was taken away then by car. The elders had hoped you had come back for her, but once we found the trail, it was unmistakable that her kidnappers were not Cullen's. Because she was taken and not simply killed, I have held out hope that she might still be alive, though it has been quite awhile now since she disappeared."

Dry sobs were coming heavily from me by the time Jasper wrapped his arms around my body. The sound of me crying sent the boy a few steps back in amazement.

"I'm sorry."He managed to say. "We have searched these forests thoroughly. There is nothing more I think we can do. That is why we actively sought you out." He gasped out a bit rough. He was succumbing to the emotion that Jasper no doubt felt radiating from him. "We are so sorry. We should have protected her!" He cried out in real pain.

At the sound of his words, my head jerked up and I pushed Jasper away from me. I locked eyes with the boy and let my face reflect pain equal to his. "No dog. WE should have protected her." I nodded my head to him and turned gracefully on my heels to run back to the car. Once there I flipped the silver phone open and hit send.

"Carlisle. We went to Forks and met with the wolves. DON'T Interrupt! Why we did it is of no consequence now! The only thing that is important is Bella is gone. She was taken from her house by three vampires, according to the wolves. I knew something was not right and yet everyone ignored me! Two days ago I felt her pain. She was in agony. No, I can't see her anymore! I try but I can't. Fine, we are going to her house to see if the scent is still there and then we will get on a plane right after that. Yes, we will see you soon." I snapped the phone shut while Jasper grabbed my leg for support.

I looked at him painfully before whispering, "We killed her. Edward has been hunting Victoria, but he left no one here to protect Bella if he failed. We left her alone, and Victoria came back for her. This is all our faults Jasper. We followed our brother's wishes, only to let our sister die."


	7. Blood Lust

**Chapter 7: Blood Lust**

**BPOV**

"Bella, open your eyes. Bella?" There was a barely audible whisper tickling the tiny hairs in my right ear. The words were discernable, but I could not remember who owned the familiar sounding voice. My eyelids flickered as my brain sent electric currents willing them to open. The crack that resulted allowed me to see nothing but stone above me. I saw the grains within the stone so clearly, even pinpointing all the different colors it possessed. It was beautiful. Never could I have imagined stone would be so intricate and mesmerizing.

"Bella." Again, there was the voice. Delicately I turned my neck toward the direction the vibrations of sound were traveling from. Seeing the man lying next to be, I flew to the corner, sat in a upright position, and placed both hands palm down on the sides of the wall in fear. I had never seen such a tender and gentle face. The vampire was looking at me with admiration and care. His hand started to outstretch to me, but stopped half way before reaching my body. He closed his eyes and put his hand on the back of his neck as his head dropped a little in thought.

"Felix?" At the sound of my voice, he jerked his head up.

"Yes Bella. That's right. I'm here." His eyes were full of love and trust. He shifted his body back in my direction a little bit before deciding to still stay away from me.

"You stayed with me. Felix, you're still here." I would have been annoyed with myself for stating the obvious, if I was not literally so surprised that I had not awoke alone.

"Bella, I never left you. I couldn't have even if I would have wanted too. As soon as I left your side you would scream out in pain. Lying next to you seemed to help." Well that was interesting. I must have been giving out orders in my pain induced delusions. The pain had been unbearable at first, but then it was soothed, almost like I was sitting in a tub of ice to dull the burning.

"I understand now." I stated. "You were my ice blanket. No wonder I wouldn't let you leave." The laughed that forced its way from my chest scared him a little. He recovered quickly before moving to my bed and sitting on the end.

"Every time I let go of you, you would scream that it burned. I thought I was helping is all."

"You did help. Thank you for staying with me. I cannot imagine how much worse that would have been without your body here to dull the burn. I'm so grateful I wasn't alone." I reached over and squeezed his hand for a quick moment before letting go. That is when I remembered. There was a reason I was surprised that I did not wake up alone.

The face of the angel that popped into my head then was perfect. He gave me a crooked smile and my heart ached. I wrapped my arms tightly around my chest in an effort to squash the memory. The realization that I was now immortal seemed to seep its way up to my brain as I started to panic. The old fear of spending forever alone hit me. I would have cried then if my body would have let me, but instead I looked up at Felix terrified.

"Come on Bella. Let's get you out of this room. We don't have to hide you now that your one of us, and Aro would like to see you. You must be thirsty. Thankfully, Heidi is due back soon. You will need to feed to gain your strength." This vampire characteristic had slipped my mind earlier in my panic. Now that it was brought to my attention I could feel the horror and fear come back across my body. Vampires drank blood. I was now a vampire. I had to admit that the thought of blood at the moment was causing the back of my throat to ach in anticipation. Hunger and thirst caused my teeth to produce an influx of venom. Yes, I would need to feed soon; very soon.

Felix's arm was outstretched in front of him waiting for me to grant him permission to take my hand into his. I pulled myself off the bed and grasped it loosely. The smile I was rewarded with would have made me blush if I was still human.

"Immortality suits you Bella. You are very stunning." I did not know how to respond to a statement like that, so I simply smiled at him. "You ready for your coming out party?"

*******************************

I could hear the voices of a considerably large crowd as we approached the massive stone room that I had last met Aro in. Once Felix pushed the wooden door open, there was nothing but silence. Leading me by the hand, we took our place in the center of the room. There must have been thirty sets of red eyes watching my every move. I moved closer to Felix after their curiosity made me uneasy. "Easy baby. They are just intrigued by you. It has been a long time since Aro has allowed one of us to change a human. Be calm. They will not hurt you."

The crowd almost simultaneously shifted its gaze from me to the black haired elder that had just entered the room. He was surrounded by three vampires that watched his every step intensely. "His guard. They're for his protection." Felix whispered for my ears only.

Aro stopped when he was parallel to us. "Ah, Felix. You have emerged with our new member. Excellent! Bring her forth dear one."

Felix shifted my hand to his right and then placed his left on the small of my back. He gave me a reassuring look and led me forward to Aro. The shuddering of my body produced a tighter hold from my escort, as we continued to walk ahead.

"Well Bella, I am very pleased to see you up out of bed. And look how beautiful you look! Oh what a treat. I am ever so curious though. Do you mind if I try my talent on you once more?" He paused, waiting on me to answer. Felix nodded in encouragement, so I held out my hand.

"Still, nothing. So frustrating, and yet so interesting. Can you think of the potential Felix? She could be extraordinary! Now, I'm sure she is eager to feed. Why don't we bring in the feast?" A huge stone door swung open at the back of the room behind where Aro was still standing prominently. A picturesque, female vampire walked into the room leading a long line of what looked to be sight seers. She led them into the middle of the space where I had been standing only moments ago before Felix pulled me to the side. The influx of humans seemed to go on endlessly before the herd was completely enclosed by the circle of vampires. It took only one word from Aro, before the frenzy began. "Eat!"

The smell of human blood was intoxicating. It was sweet and carried a tantalizing aroma. All around me there were screams as blood was being drained from the herd of people. How was I supposed to pick just one? Did I kill them first and then drink? The questions in my head excited me as I felt the wave of venom fill my mouth in anticipation. I could have squealed in delight when I noticed Aro approaching me while holding a teenage girl by the hair. She was screaming as he dragged her in my direction.

"I thought you should have a proper first meal Bella. Her smell is intoxicating. Enjoy my child." He grabbed her by the shoulder and pushed her down, exposing her neck to me. I leaned in to take her life into my veins, when I saw her blue eyes. She was so scared. Her face reminded me of a girl I used to be friends with back in Forks. I stopped dead in my tracks as the tears rolled down her cheeks and she whispered, "You monsters!"

Shoving her back from me, I ran to the door as fast as I could. I looked back only once to see Felix shoot Aro an astonished look and say, "How did she do that?"

**********************************

Due to my now photographic memory, I ran back to the room Felix had led me from earlier. The familiar corner called to me and I curled up on the bed. My thirst was screaming at me to go back and feed. I shook my head furiously to ignore the urge to become the monster she accused me of. The reflection of me in her eyes was crushing. My eyes were fierce blood red, my skin grey, and the expression on my face was that of a killer. She did see a monster, and I hated myself for that.

To numb the shame, I was hitting myself in the forward when Felix came back into the room. Hoping my actions wouldn't lose me my only friend, I began to apologize profusely for what had just happened. He ignored me and said, "Bella how did you do that?"

"I don't know. Oh, Felix I'm so sorry. Please don't be mad at me! I just couldn't kill her. She looked so scared!"

"I saw how much you wanted her. The joy on your face was adorable. But then you just ran away! Bella, you should not be able to stop from feeding at this age. Newborns don't have that kind of control!"

I did not care about this newborn talk. All I knew was that I did not want to be back in that situation ever again. I knew there was a different way. "Felix, I don't want to be a monster. They did not live this way, and they survived, and are thriving. Please don't make me go back!"

His loud laugh was very irritating. He continued to chuckle for a minute before my anger got the best of me. "What is your problem? Stop laughing at me!" My order caused him to step back from me in a little bit of fear.

"I'm sorry. Your right, of course, I shouldn't have laughed at you. I just forgot that you were around the Cullen's before. There lifestyle had always amused me. How could they drink from animals, when human blood was so delightful? It will always be a mystery to me." He shrugged his shoulders. "This is who you are now Bella. We feed on human blood here. If you deny yourself these basic needs, you will become very weak and fragile. Not to mention you will be looked down upon when word gets out that you wish to sustain yourself on animal blood. This is a very unforgiving place; we don't need to make enemies."

I knew he was right. The Cullen's were alone in their world. They had no one to answer to, or anyone around to judge them. They had the luxury of choosing a different path, but I was surrounded by hostile vampires that I did not wish to anger. But the knowledge of knowing there was another way would not release its hold on my conscious. I could not kill an innocent life only to save myself.

"I'm sorry, but I will not be that monster. If I have to kill to stay alive, then I will die. My life is not worth taking someone else's." Defiantly I crossed my arms and looked away from him. I heard a loud growl and the door slam as he walked out of the room. Well that didn't go very well. I guess I was just as stubborn as before. What made me run off the one person who was willing to stay with me?

I sat still, and quiet for an indescribable amount of time. There were no clocks in the room, and my concept of time was a bit blurred. Before I could really start to feel sorry for myself, the door opened gently and Felix walked back through holding something in his hand. His face showed not a trace of anger, but only that of concern.

"Your eyes are so black Bella." It was then that I noticed that his hand held two hospital bags of what appeared to be blood. "I stole these while I was gone. Please drink it. You need to feed now! It was donated. I promise no one died for you to have it."

I do not know what came over me then. I grabbed the first bag and sank my teeth in the plastic. It was very cold, but the taste was exquisite. It coated the back of my throat while it slid down into my body. I started on the second one immediately after I drained the first. The satisfaction after I was finished was instant. My vision became sharper, my hearing became clearer, and the pain in the back of my throat had disappeared. He had been accurate when he told me I needed to eat immediately.

"Thank you. I feel so much better now. What will they all think?" I asked.

"Your eyes already look better, so Aro will assume I took you out of the city to feed in the outer villages. We should be fine as long as he doesn't try to touch me." He paused briefly. "You should still know that I think you are being a bit childish about all of this Bella. But I will not sit back and watch you kill yourself over ideas those idiots planted into your head."

I should have defended my family and told him they were not idiots, but I let it slide. I was just so thankful for him revealing to me a different option. Social politics forbid me from eating animals, and my eyes turning gold would surely give away that secret. Drinking the donated human blood, however, would allow me to keep my red eyes, and sustain my life. I was elated with this third option. My enjoyment must have shown on the outside as well. I heard him sigh loudly before he pulled me into him for a hug. I did not deny him.

**EPOV**

Her trail was so strong here. I was getting closer to finally catching up with her, and I yearned to see her face as I snapped her head off. The thought that I would soon kill Victoria was better than any drug I could imagine.

Again for the fourth time today my phone vibrated. Glancing at the screen told me that this time it was Carlisle instead of Alice. I sighed and then turned the phone completely off. I didn't need to give Victoria even the slightest tremor to hear me coming. I ran faster now to catch glimpses of red far in the distance. It wouldn't be long now before I removed this threat from existence, so my beautiful Bella could go on to live a long and happy human life.


	8. Grief and Bugs

**Chapter 8: Grief, Bugs and Noel**

**APOV**

The plane ride from Seattle to Chicago seemed to drag on for days. Jasper and I had made a short stop at Bella's house only to confirm what the wolves had in fact stated earlier. There were indeed three unknown scents leading into the forest with Bella's scent entangled with them. None of the scents were that on Victoria's, but we were sure she probably wouldn't have came and done the dirty work herself. She must have made some new friends. The wolves mentioned they had been chasing a red headed vampire for months, and almost succeeded in killing her at one point. Unfortunately, she always managed to get away right at the last moment. Jasper decided it was too risky now for her to come kill Bella herself, so she had Bella brought to her. He gave little hope to me that she was in fact still alive.

Our flight ended at twilight. We stepped out into the airport to find our family waiting for us. Esme ran to me and wrapped her arms around me tightly. "Alice. My daughter. I have missed you so much." The slight trembles that were shaking her body indicated to me that I wasn't the only daughter she was thinking of at that moment. I leaned away from her embrace and whispered, "I'm sorry I had to leave you mom, but I'm here now."

Taking her hand, we turned to leave the terminal. The others followed behind us without a word. The tension between everyone was thick and noticeable. Jasper and I climbed into the car with our parents, while Rosalie and Emmett rode in the BMW. The Chicago house came into view soon after we left the airport and I sighed. This conversation was going to be very difficult for me. I was so hurt that I had lost my sister and friend. I was furious at them for not believing me when I warned that leaving Bella was a horrible idea. But most of all, I just wanted the family we had left to be back together.

We all took seats around the long dining table that was used only for family meetings. Jasper and I sat on one side, while Rosalie and Emmett sat across from us. Carlisle sat at the head of the table, and Esme stood behind him with her hands on his shoulders. "Why don't you start from the beginning, so we are all on the same page, Alice?" Carlisle motioned for me to go ahead and start.

Taking a breath to speak, I told the story as it had happened. "We were in Alaska with Tanya of course. Jasper had insisted we go hunting and that is when I caught I glimpse of Bella. Since her future hasn't been tied to ours for quite some time, I rarely can find her. It came out of the blue, but all I knew was she was in immense pain. I had to do something other than just sit around for once! We drove all night to get to Forks. 411 easily located the number for the Blacks and we set up a meeting. The wolves explained that she had been taken three months after we left. They had found the trail of the three vampires and tried to track them in the forest, only to find the scent stopped at the road. Before Bella went missing they had been playing cat and mouse with a red headed vampire. Victoria always managed to get away."

I heard Esme gasp and cover her mouth with her hand. Emmett's massive fist slammed down on the table in anger. Rosalie of course said nothing. I couldn't will myself to continue speaking, so Jasper took over.

"We found the three scents at Bella's house. There is no doubt in my mind that they took her. I believe Victoria saw the wolves as too much of a risk after that had almost caught her the last time. She must have sent someone to bring Bella back to her." He paused, and then sighed. "I don't see any reason why she wouldn't kill her once they brought her back." He put his hands up to his face, and I could tell that he was just as hurt over what had happened. My wonderful husband still blamed himself for us leaving Bella in the first place.

The dry sobs shook my tiny body. His arms wrapped around me in a millisecond. I wanted to scream at my family that this was all our faults, but I could not bring myself to verbalize the blame we all felt. Carlisle picked the phone up off the table and placed the phone call none of us wanted to make.

"His phone is turned off now." He said.

"I know. I was trying to call him too. He wouldn't answer my calls, and then it started taking me straight to voicemail. Where do you think he is Carlisle?"

"I don't know, but I'm sure he'll check in soon. He always does, at least for Esme's sake."

**EPOV**

Self loathing was the only way to express how I was feeling. Clearly I couldn't do anything right. It wasn't enough that I was a monster who didn't deserve love from anyone, let alone my perfect angel. But now I couldn't even do one last thing to protect her from the danger I had inflicted upon her life. I was completely useless!

That bitch had managed to elude me again. I had followed a lead down to Brazil after leaving Texas, only to lose her. I was a horrible tracker! So now, having absolutely no idea where to go from here, I found myself sitting on a rock in the middle of the Amazon flicking bugs off of me. I was so pathetic.

I knew my mother was probably worrying about me again by now, so I picked up the phone. I switched it back on, and then hit send.

"Carlisle, it's me. I'm in the Amazon actually. No, I lost her again." I almost growled at the voice on the other end. "What do you mean I need to come home? I told you I'm not coming back till I kill her! Try to understand, I have to do this for Bella! Yes, I will call again soon. Tell mom I love her."

I closed the phone and flicked another bug off me.

**APOV**

"Oh, and Edward?" I heard Carlisle sternly speak into the tiny phone he held. "Do not turn your phone off again." That was the last thing he said before he snapped it shut.

"I wasn't going to tell him over the phone. It will just have to wait until he gets back. I'm afraid he might do something rash if we are not there when he finds out." Carlisle basically announced this to the whole family once he finished the call from Edward. He was right of course, but it was hard to keep something so important from my brother.

I froze when the vision came through. A very tall vampire with olive skin and dark hair was going to show up at the door, very soon. "Alice, what did you see?!" Jasper demanded.

"There is someone coming. He will be here in five minutes. I haven't seen him before Carlisle." He nodded his head as the let us all know to calm down. The nerves were again thick in the room as we all sat awaiting our guest. My mother had a very scared expression on her face. She had confided in me only a couple of days ago that she feared she would just keep losing her children one by one. Doing my best to calm her, I had promised that I wouldn't let anything to happen to anyone. Never again would I go against my intuition when I felt something was not right. She had hugged me very tightly in her mothering embrace before whispering, "I'll hold you to that."

The whole room jumped at the sound of the loud knock echoing from the front door. My father released Esme's hand before approaching it. There stood the exact man from my vision, only taller than I thought he would be.

"Demetri?" Carlisle said, with a little bit of shock in his voice.

"Carlisle. I'm sorry to disturb you and your family, but I bring word from Aro. We had heard you were no longer in Forks, so my assistance was required, of course, to find you."

"Of course, please come in, Demetri." Carlisle swung the door open wider to allow our company to step into the room we were all sitting in. Demetri did not sit; he only turned back to my father to continue his message.

"It has been so long since Aro has seen you. He grew very curious as to how you were doing. I have to admit that he seemed kind of hurt that you had not visited in over five decades. So, he sent me to track you down and request your presence in Volterra. He wishes to see both you and Edward, though I'm sure your whole family is welcome if you wish to bring them."

"Very well Demetri. I am always happy to oblige Aro. Edward is away right now, but as soon as we get him back home we will head to Italy. If you will tell Aro we will be there as soon as possible, I would be grateful." Demetri nodded and then reached out to shake Carlisle's hand. He then nodded at all of us and headed out the door.

Once the door was closed Carlisle wasted no time in redialing the phone.

"Edward, we just had a visitor. Aro wishes to speak to you and I. You need to come home right now. Son, this is no longer a request.


	9. Noel

**Chapter 9: Noel**

**BPOV**

"Bella, what are you reading?" The voice rang like bells, flowing into every corner of my quarters. I looked up to find a fiery red head gracefully approaching me, with an inquisitive look upon her perfectly pale face.

"Elle, I thought they had sent you out with Heidi?" She shrugged her shoulders and glanced around my room. I had done almost nothing to 'put myself' into the place . The walls were barren, boring and dull. The black leather couch I was perched on was there before my arrival, as were the two bookshelf's on either side of the room. Felix had gone into town for me and bought some of my favorite books to help me pass the time. I could not be trusted to not attack a human in public, so I was infuriatingly trapped behind the castle walls. Everyone assumed he took me outside of Volterra to hunt discreetly, but I had not gone anywhere since I had awoke.

Felix had me put into a room right down the hallway from his. He was almost never away from my side, however. He sat with me quietly and patiently for hours, simply hoping that I would change my mind and let him in on my pain. I wanted to be able to open up and trust my new friend, but knowing I was the only person who could safely shield the Cullen's from Aro, I kept my secrets locked safely away in my heart. There were days when the aching for them was so unbearable that my resolve almost cracked. I yearned to tell Felix of my pain.

_It wasn't long into one of our silent assemblies when she walked into my room. The first thing I saw was her red hair and I flew back against the wall, crouching in a defensive position. The color of her hair was almost the exact shade as Victoria's, and it terrified me._

"_Hello there! It seems we are neighbors. I didn't mean to startle you. I won't hurt you Bella." I slightly eased up from my attack position when Felix touched my hand. My body rotated to the right as I found myself looking directly into his eyes. He stared at me for a few moments before I relaxed from his reassurance. "My name is Noel, but you can just call me Elle. Old Felix over there thought you might need a girl around instead of him all the time. I'm only 7 years old, vampire time, so I know what you are going through right now. I think we can be great friends."_

She was a constant presence from then on. Elle, was flighty, erratic and hare-brained, but more importantly she was kind, caring, and completely genuine. She reminded me of Alice in so many ways, and for that I clung to her. She was beautiful, inside and out. Like Felix, Elle possessed no abilities that were considered extraordinary, at least not to the people that mattered. If you spent enough time with her, however, you realized that it was very hard for you to deny her anything. She turned your desires toward her will, and anyone would find it hard to not do whatever she wanted. Her beauty was used to her advantage, and she was very cunning.

"I managed to get Marcus to let me stay behind Bells. I grow tired of sauntering around in skimpy clothing all the time. Heidi doesn't need me anyway." Elle, paused when she realized what book I was holding in my hand. "You cannot be reading Romeo and Juliet again Bells?"

I shot her a glare and she giggled. "You know I hate to be called that. I'm not Bells, or Isabella. I'm just Bella!" Everyone here in this damn castle wanted to call me variants of the name I preferred. It irritated me to no end. "You can learn a lot from Romeo and Juliet. It's a timeless story, and my favorite apart from Wuthering Heights, which I don't have."

Felix jerked his head to look at me. "I will go and get it for you Bella. You didn't put that on your list from before. I'll be back soon." I reached out for his hand before he could run from the room, knowing that is exactly what he would have done. I was to want for nothing, as far as he was concerned, and he went to great lengths to get me everything I coveted. This included dangerously sneaking bags of blood into me, whenever he didn't like the color of my eyes. No matter what he said, I would never join him in the hall for feast, which only left him to bend to my will by bringing in the donated blood. As a token of appreciation, I held back my disapproval for all the gifts he continued to bestow upon me. The whole thing sort of made me laugh when I thought about it. If my family could see me now, graciously accepting presents.

"It's not the same. I had this great copy before that had been read hundreds of times. The binding was loose and the cover was tattered, but it was perfect. You saw the love I had for that book when you looked at its cover. Reading a brand new copy is just blasphemous for such a classic." I scrunched up my nose and shook my head at the thought of it. Looking at Felix, I noticed the wheels turning in his expression. "Wait. Felix, do not go get my copy of that book!" I looked at him sternly before he laughed.

"That was the last thing I was thinking of doing, Bella. Don't you trust me?" His smirk never failed to make me smile.

Elle was humming across the room, intently studying something at the bottom of the wall. I ignored her as Felix sat down next to me. I felt his arm wrap around me on the back of the couch. Gently he took the book from my fingers, turning it upside down, studying it with an incredulous look on his face. "Tell me you have read Romeo and Juliet?" He didn't answer me at first. My book was on his lap as he was thumbing through the pages aimlessly. He stopped to read a random passage before closing it and laying it away from me. "Hey." I whined.

"I never really liked Shakespeare. He was trying too hard to say something that could have been said so simply, and without all the confusion. You would never catch me whispering that stuff in your ear, dear." His words stung. He knew not of the meaning behind what he had said, but the words hurt all same. Yet another example of how Paris was so different from Romeo.

"This is exactly what your room was missing. How you sit here for hours in silence, Bella, is just beyond me!" I focused my attention back at Elle when her voice intruded into my thoughts. It was at that exact moment that I noticed her pushing play on the black stereo that was now posted upon one of my bookshelves. The first few notes of Debussy rang through the ancient walls before I sprang forth to knock Elle out of the way, and stop the music. I felt the pain tightening my chest muscles as I attempted to calm myself. Neither one of my companions moved from their sides of the room to comfort me. I was still a dangerous newborn, and they were being very cautious.

"I'm so sorry Bella. I thought you could use some reading noise. Classical music has always soothed me. I'm sorry." She looked so dejected and ashamed when I catch site of her face. The tightness in my chest relaxed and I sank down to the ground. Felix was at my side the moment he noticed the change in my body language. He grabbed my hand and held it tightly. I waited a few minutes before I answered Elle.

"Forgive me Elle. I shouldn't have shoved you. I do not know what came over me. The panic just came on so suddenly I couldn't control myself." Felix sat down next to me and put his arm around my shoulders, drawing me in to him. "I don't listen to music guys. I just can't take it."

Elle shifted side to side and I knew what she was fixing to do. "Wait Elle, please don't. I know that you can change my mind, but please don't make me. I'm not sure I can handle it. Give me this one thing. No music." I tried to speak with finality, praying that she would take pity on me. If she put her mind to it, she could have convinced me that music was the one thing on the planet I liked the most.

"Bella, my dear friend, you are forgiven. You have so much control, but no one expects you to be perfect. I know you meant me no harm. I do, however, wish you would let us help you deal with some of these things that haunt you. It is not healthy for to stay so depressed. And I hope you know that I would never make you do something that I didn't think was good for you. I respect you in so many ways, and I will do nothing that will hurt you. If music causes you pain, then we will do without it." She waved her hand in the air and opened her eyes a little wider to give me an impression that it was no big deal. She dropped down to her knees as we all three laughed aloud.

"How touching. I might just have to gag!" Across the room, there stood the tiny and cruel vampire, Jane. She planted both her feet slightly apart and wrapped both arms tightly across her chest. She was far from intimidating on appearance, but her ability made her feared by all. All, except me. Without question I pull myself from Felix and the floor to stand between her and my friends.

"You are not welcome in my room Jane. I suggest you leave!" Her intrusion on my personal space made me livid. Her body never even flinched as she let out a loud laugh.

"Well look at Felix's charity case getting a back bone. It's about time I must say. Did you finally find comfort with your replacements?" I hated that smug look on her face with everything in my being. I was shaking when fury when I felt Felix push me back to the bookcase where Elle was standing in fear. He took one step toward Jane before her brow tightened and he was on the floor in agony. His body twisted and jerked at the pain that she was inflicting.

Something came over me and I felt a force rush out of me and incase him. His pain stopped instantly. His eyes shot up to Jane, as he noticed she was still attempting her attack. Confused, his eyes shifted to me and out of shock he gasped, "Bella?" I ignored him and took a step toward the parasite in front of me.

"What did you do?" She asked in horror. My feet never stopped moving in her direction.

"Wouldn't you like to know? Again, I suggest you leave now!" My hand thrust forward and hit her square in the chest sending her flying out of my room. She crashed against the wall in the hallway as I slammed the door in her face.

Massive arms encased my waist before I even turned away from the door. Felix pulled me up and close to his body, where my face was eye level with his. He spun me around quickly, laughing as he turned. He put me back on the ground and grabbed my face with both his hands. "How did you do that Bella?"

"I don't really know actually. All I saw was you in pain, and Elle terrified. I am just so sick of that vile girl walking around like she is untouchable. You were moaning in agony, and I just thought how I wish I could stop your pain. And then, well, I did."

"She projected Felix." Elle chimed in on our conversation. "She shields intruders like Jane and Aro right. Well she just projected that. She can block attack on other people as well!" The perfect 'o' shape she made with her mouth caused me to giggle.

"What do you think you are laughing at?" He teased. "We just found out you are an even better friend than we thought, and you think that is funny. Explain yourself silly girl."

"It's nothing. I'm just so happy I can do something useful for you two. You have been doing so much for me. I'm thankful that I have a way to repay you." I laughed again, and Elle came over to hug me. I thought I might break when Felix wrapped all three of us up in his massive embrace.

**EPOV**

Worst possible timing! That is what Aro's request was. Knowing I had no choice in the matter, I checked into a hotel for the first time in a month, simply to shower and clean myself up. I left within an hour to catch the first flight back to Chicago. I had only one lay over before I walked out of the terminal to see the smiling faces of the family I had abandoned. Well almost all of the family. _Don't think about it. Don't think about it. Don't think about it. _I heard Emmett's thoughts chanting over and over in his head. Was he trying to infuriate me!

"What is going on?" I snapped at them both. Carlisle stepped forward to put his hand on my shoulder.

"That's enough Edward. We have much to talk about. For now, we have a plane to catch to Italy. We brought you extra clothes, but we are leaving immediately." Nodding toward the opposite direction, he began to lead us to the correct terminal.

"Is no one else coming? Why only the three of us?" I asked.

"Though Demetri said Aro only requested mine and your presence, he threw in that I could bring my family. Of course, that means more of us were expected to come. I would not put your mother anywhere near the Volturri, and they do not know about Alice and Jasper yet. We need to keep Aro from knowing Alice's secret anyway. That left Emmett who naturally wouldn't let Rosalie come. So it looks like it's just the three of us."

_I'm not thinking about it. I'm not thinking about it. I'm not thinking about it. _

"You know you were always horrible at hiding your thoughts from me Emmett." He turned to see that I had stopped following them. Instead I was standing with my arms crossed. "Who wants to tell me what is going on?"

It was Carlisle's thought that penetrated my head. _Edward, I will tell you as soon as we land. Trust me son. I cannot tell you before that. Please leave your brother alone. It cannot be before we are in the hotel._ I nodded my head and continued to follow them through the airport.

I tuned everyone out as best as I could while weaving in and out of the immense crowd of people. We took our seats in first class and I put the provided head phones on immediately. I did not know what was going on, and frankly I had a vast feeling that it was not good. I trusted Carlisle when he said it was not a good idea for me to know before we were away from everybody. I cranked the volume up as loud as it would go and tried to drown out all the thoughts of those around me.

I saw here beautiful face the moment I closed my eyes. I longed to see her with every ounce of life I had in me. She was so perfect and innocent. She smiled at me, and bit her bottom lip when she realized I was staring at her. "I love you Edward." She whispered.

I squeezed the bridge of my nose and Carlisle gently patted the top of my hand on the arm rest. This was going to be a very long plane ride.

*********************************

_You look like hell Edward. _Emmett had apparently stopped chanting long enough to assault my appearance. I ignored him. We were walking swiftly through the airport to get to our rental car. I wanted nothing more than to be safely in our hotel room, so I could end the torturous thoughts in my head. I questioned every scenario I could imagine on what could be going on. Not being involved was driving me crazy!

"It is nice to see you again Carlisle. Aro will be very pleased you did not take long complying with his request. I have a car waiting to take you to Volterra." Demtri stood before a huge black limousine waiting with a polite smile on his face. Panicking, I looked over at Carlisle. _I thought we had more time Edward. This shouldn't take long. We can talk after we see Aro. Please be patient son. _Frustrated, I sighed before stepping into the long car.

Our escort was reciting Romeo and Juliet in his head to keep his thoughts at bay. He was always very talented at thwarting my efforts. I hated everything about this situation. I desperately needed to be out tracking Victoria. She could be going after Bella right now, and no one was there to stop her from heading towards Forks. On top of that problem, which was the big one, I was dealing with being left out of something that obviously involved me in some way.

It had been four months and twenty-seven days since I broke the heart of the woman who believed our love was infallible. The vision of her face accepting that I had never loved her haunted me every second I had been away. She had never once mistrusted me, so it should not have been such a shock when she so willingly accepted that I did not want her. She had always believed ever word I ever told her, why should that time have been any different. I stared out the window the whole drive watching the countryside pass us by, before spotting the enclosed stone city coming into view at the top of the hill.

_Let's get this over with. _Carlisle thoughts were pained. I figured he would be at least a little happy to visit with his old friend. The three elders had great respect for my father. Had he chosen to live his life in the traditional manner, he certainly would have been very high up in the Volturri by now. The memories of his times in Italy were always shared with immense fondness. It was unnerving that he was not happy for this reunion.

"Aro and Marcus are waiting for you in Marcus's study. They have a few companions in there as well. I'll take you there now."

**BPOV**

The never ending days could become unbearable quickly. The digital clock on the tiny table next to my couch told me it was just now ten in the evening. Felix and Elle were off tending to their needs, as I lay curled up on the couch lost in my pain.

"Bella, honey, are you okay?" I sat up quickly at the sound of Felix's low voice. He walked over to me with his hands hidden behind his back. His smug expression told me he was hiding something from my view.

"Felix, what do you have? I cannot possible need anything else...Hum? You can't hide it forever you know." I teased him with a small smile. His presence managed to brighten my mood considerably; the gift was completely unnecessary.

He placed a very old book inside my waiting hands. The hard cover was a faded shade of olive green, the ends were slightly frayed and the binding was pretty worn. The front held the words, "Wuthering Heights". Shocked I opened the first page to see that it was indeed a first edition. I looked up at him with questions in my eyes.

"Marcus has a pretty extensive library. When I asked him if he had a copy of that book, he laughed and handed me that. It was his wife's. She collected almost all the books in his study. He said he was happy to give it to someone who would appreciate it. Though I'm sure it'll come with a favor from me later." He let out a little chuckle when he saw me stroking the book like it was a cat. "So it meets your standards then?"

"It's perfect Felix; just perfect." I let myself fall into his arms and embraced him for just being him.


	10. The Meeting

**Chapter 10: The Meeting **

**EPOV**

The hallway to Marcus's study was dark and desolate. The walls of the ancient castle created a very dreary and gruesome back drop for the situation we found ourselves in. It matched my mood perfectly. Thoughts began creeping into my mind as we approached the entrance to our destination. There were so many people 'speaking' at once that it was very hard to pin point the exact words. However, the general concept roaring through seemed to be nervous anticipation. Something was wrong. I shot Carlisle a nervous look while lowering my eyebrows. _I feel it to Edward. They want something. This is not a social visit. Try to stay calm. Let me do the talking._ His phone vibrated in his pocket, but before Carlisle could look to see who was calling, Demetri calmly said, "No Phones." _It was Alice. She must have seen something._

Demetri opened the door to the vast study and led us into the center. Aro and Marcus sat in the back of the room surrounded by their personal guard. To our very detriment, the witch twins, Jane and Alec stood holding hands on the right of Aro. He loved to show off his greatest treasures. _This is going to be so fun!_ Jane was an evil creature, who hoarded great power. I was not at all surprised that she was hoping she would get a chance to flex her muscles during the gathering. Demetri took his place on the left of Marcus, leaving the three of us alone.

Marcus took Aro's hand in order to convey to him his thoughts. _It is time for answers brother. I will call them in._ Aro nodded at Marcus, turned to whisper the same thing to Demetri, who then promptly left the room through a door that was behind the elders. I frowned at my father and he returned the same nervous expression.

"Carlisle, old friend, it is good to finally be back in your company. Thank you for coming so quickly. I'm afraid the meaning behind my request for your presence has… changed a bit. Circumstances have presented themselves that require explanation. You see we recently sent members of our guard to Forks to relay my request for your presence."

Carlisle let out a loud gasp. I turned immediately to see his look of horror. _They were there in Forks. They have her. We were so wrong._ His face never left focus on Aro, refusing to turn in my direction. I felt his thoughts turn to panic and shock as his head shook side to side. What the hell is going on?

The door behind Aro swung open rapidly revealing Marcus. He strolled into the room carelessly, followed by a massive vampire I knew to be Felix. He was holding a tiny hand and pulling a female vampire behind him gently. The familiar scent spread throughout the room quickly as I realized who was hiding behind the mahogany curtain of hair.

"Bella!" My voice was mixed with surprise, shock, and anger.

The perfect angel raised her head up causing her hair to fall away from her face. At the site of me and my family she threw her hands up to her mouth and gasped loudly. I wanted to run to her and tightly embrace her in my protection. One step was enough to make Emmett wrap his arms around me in restraint and hold me at their side. Felix stepped in front of Bella holding one arm back around her waist, letting out a menacing growl aimed in my direction. I could hear the sobs behind him, muffled in his back.

"Be calm Edward, there will be plenty of time for reunions later." Aro was highly amused with the incident that had just come to pass. "Welcome to our little gathering dear ones. Isabella, why don't you come out so we can all see you? Felix is almost completely hiding you from the view of our guests."

_What are they doing here? This is insane! Does Aro wish to torture her? _Felix was clearly not happy with what was going on. He continued to growl at me in a warning before gently pulling Bella around his body to face us, never releasing her from his clutch. Her face met mine for a brief second, before she hung her head in shame. They had ripped my angel from her home against her will, without me there to protect her, and yet she was ashamed. My fury at her captures was building in my chest, but it was nothing compared to the anger I was directing at myself.

I had left her unprotected to fend off the wolves. Visions of Bella being ripped from her bedroom and crying as her capturers tore into her flesh with their teeth, sent chills down my back. But worst of all was the thought of her all alone in a room, screaming out in it agony as the venom coursed through her veins, taking her life away. My body slumped to the ground out of Emmett's embrace.

"It is not like you to bend the rules Carlisle. You let a human in on our secret and then just left her behind. Bella has refused to speak of the situation at all, so naturally, this left Marcus and I very curious." Aro reached his hand out to my father waiting for him to take it.

"Aro, old friend, do not pretend that you do not have means to get around a stubborn girl."

Laughter rose from both Marcus and Aro simultaneously. Aro looked at me and said, "Are you conversing with Bella right now Edward?" I shook my head and muttered a no.

"Then you, Carlisle, do not pretend to not know Bella has her own means of protecting her secrets." He again put his hand out to my father, frustration plastered on his face.

**BPOV**

Carlisle eventually consented to Aro's touch, but I was ready for him. Aro cocked his head to the side, released the hand and then approached Emmett. Confused, Emmett offered his arm to him while giving his father a puzzled look.

"Bella?" Aro turned to face me, eyebrows raised. "Are you keeping me out?"

I didn't respond to him, but continued to look down at my feet. Edward cried out in agony for only a minute before I responded to his pleas. I stepped away from Felix and turned my head in the direction I knew Jane was attacking from. Rage filled my voice as I spat at her, "You think I can't protect all of them at once? Go ahead, keep trying! I will not let you hurt them!"

My chest rose and fell in fury. My family stood before me stunned. The room was silent in anticipation of my newborn fury, but it never came. My eyes locked with Emmett's as he nodded his head at me proudly. I small giggle escaped my lips and I started to go to him. Felix reached forward for my hand, but I shrugged him off. I went straight to Emmett and he embraced me in a bear hug, lifting me off my feet. "I missed you big brother." He laughed and sat me back down, as Carlisle came forward to hug me as well.

Stepping back, I looked over at Edward and dropped my eyes. "Hello…Edward." It hurt to say his name and not be able to run to him. I yearned for him so badly to hold me. Aro had forced him to come here to see me, but I knew he couldn't force him to stay. The familiar loneliness spread over my body as I again felt dejected. I bit my bottom lip and turned to go back to Felix. He started to walk to me as Edward reached out for my hand and said, "Bella wait."

Felix growled at him and reached for my waist, as Edward did the same. They were literally pulling me in two different directions. I let out my own growl as I thrust my hands out in both directions sending them both flying away from me onto the ground. "I don't need either one of you to protect me from the other!" I turned my attention to Edward. "Do you think I'm still that fragile human you need to save from herself? I'll decide what is best for me!" I shot Felix an annoyed glare before walking across the room from both of them and standing alone. As I crossed my arms over my chest, I heard the laughter in the room break out.

"She is a delight isn't she Carlisle?"

"Yes Marcus and she always has been." Carlisle smiled over at me as I continued to stew. Chuckling in his unique way, Emmett stood before me, eyes wide as if to ask for my permission. I couldn't help but let out a small smile. Who could refuse Emmett? He took his place by my side and wrapped his arm around my shoulder, giving me a little squeeze. Across the room, Felix and Edward both looked down, hurt. Edward did not love me, but he sure wanted to annoy me to death with his need to be a savior.

"Now that Isabella is calmed down, we really must be getting back to business. I would like to know what happened Carlisle. I can't force you to tell me, obviously." He waved his hand in my direction indicating I was to blame, and I smiled. "But as friends, I would hope you are willing to give us an explanation for your actions."

"Of course, Aro."

I gasped "No!" in Carlisle's direction.

"It's okay my child. You have done well. Let me handle this." He tried to calm my panic with his reassurance. Emmett gave me another squeeze.

"Bella is well, one of a kind. As you know, our lifestyle is much more intertwined with humans than yours, and my family became rather attached to her unwittingly. She is very easy to love and care for. I won't try to deny that Bella and Edward don't share a very close bond." He glanced briefly at Felix and I laughed a little, though I didn't find it amusing. Shows what he knows. "We never let Bella in on our secret, but she is too smart for her own good. We left as soon as she began to suspect we were more than what we claimed to be. Clearly, Edward could not tell for sure if she had the correct assumption. So we chose to leave before she tried to call us out, so to speak." I bit down on my lip knowing he was lying. "The whole thing was wrong of course, and we will not make the same mistake again with other humans." He stepped back once he had finished his speech.

"The threat of exposure has been eradicated. Therefore, you are forgiven of course, old friend. We will insist on holding you to that promise, however. Next time we will not be so willing to overlook your lapse in judgment." Carlisle nodded and Aro continued. "Now that business is finished, I hope that we can spend time together under happier circumstances before you leave Italy."

He stood up and smiled over to his brother waving his hand to everyone letting them know the meeting was complete. "Wait!" Edward yelled. "Is Bella free to leave Italy with us?" The roaring laughter that escaped Aro surprised me a little bit.

"You unconsciously assume that Bella would want to leave with you Edward." He stated matter-of-factly, patting Felix on the back to further communicate his meaning. Edward growled a little before Carlisle walked closer to Aro and said, "I think we will stick around Volterra for a little while if that is okay."

Aro nodded and turned to leave before looking over his shoulder to say, "Nothing like a little friendly competition!"

**EPOV**

Felix walked straight to Bella, who gave my brother a final squeeze. She whispered, "I'll see you soon," before running out the door, Felix following right after. I wanted to run her and explain everything as best I could. I still loved her with ever fiber in me, and wanted to show her. _No Edward. Let her be for now. We aren't going very far. I think we should find a hotel to talk. _ Carlisle's wisdom could get very annoying at times, but I listened.

We checked into the hotel closest to the castle, for there was no way I was getting very far from Bella. We had just got into the room when Carlisle's phone rang.

"Alice. Yes, she was there. I'm not sure how she managed that either, actually. They must have found out about her shield. She was brilliant, Alice, you should have seen her! I'm not sure how long we'll be here, but I'm not leaving Bella again unless she wants us to go. NO! You need to stay as far away from here as possible. Aro knows nothing about you, Bella saw to that. We will call you soon. Tell Esme I will speak with her later. Goodbye." He hung up the phone and flopped down in the chair across the room.

"I want to know what is going on. You seemed just as shocked as me that she was there, but yet you said you were wrong?" My attempts at maintaining my composure where started to fissure. I tightened my hands into fists and focused my frustration on the wall across from my seat.

"We actually thought Bella was dead Edward." He paused to make sure I was still in control. I only squeezed my fist tighter. "Clearly from your phone conversations, you are aware that Alice was very depressed and distraught over Bella absence. After we discussed the vision about the Quileute's, she and Jasper decided to leave the family for awhile. There were up in Denali when she felt glimpses of Bella being in devastating pain. We can infer now that she was probably feeling Bella going through the change. She set up a meeting with the wolves without my knowledge. They informed her that Bella was taken from her home three months after we left. The trail they found was of three unknown vampires. Before she was taken, they had been tracking a red-headed. The last time they had almost caught her. We all assumed that Victoria sent three of her friends to bring Bella back to her, not wanting to risk a run in with the wolves herself."

"Victoria was in Forks? God, Carlisle I wasn't even on the right continent!" I was disgusted with myself. How could I have been so stupid to leave her unprotected? And now, she would barely look at me! I slumped back down on the bed, putting my head in my hands between my knees. "She wouldn't even look at me. And did you see how she looked at Felix? She must hate me, not that I blame her one bit. I don't deserve her, and I never did." I wanted to drag myself back to the hole in the Amazon that I had crawled out of.

"Would you get over yourself Edward!" Emmett shouted from across the room. His voice brought irritation that I had found for him during our 'meeting'.

"And you!" I jammed by finger at him. "She wouldn't even look at me, and yet you were all over her!"

"Do not even start with me Edward! I'm not going to feel bad for embracing my sister after five months!" He was very mad. He stood and forcefully took a step in my direction. "You want to feel sorry for yourself and play the victim? Well then let me lay it all on the line for you Bro. You brought Bella into all our lives. There are six other people in this family, not even counting Bella, and yet you still felt your opinion was the only one that mattered. What about what she wanted? The fact that you didn't trust Bella to choose the path she wanted in life is just plain insulting to her! We all knew you were making a huge mistake, but out of loyalty to you, I shut my mouth and supported your choice. For five months I watched Alice and Esme cry for both you and Bella, but still I supported you!" I slumped down on the bed. The truth was always hard to hear. "I heard you countless times tell that sweet girl how much you loved her, and intended to be with her forever. You were the best out of all of us. I have never in the whole time I have known you, seen you as a monster until you told Bella you didn't love her anymore. You don't treat women like that! I should have kicked your ass the night you told me you said it. So yes, your right, you don't deserve her! But as much as I wish she didn't right now, I know Bella still loves you, man. She is putting on a brave face and clinging to that guy, because she thinks he is her only option." He sat back down in the chair he had gotten up from. "So you have two options, Edward. You can leave her again like a coward, or you can fight for her. And she deserves for you to fight for her!"


	11. Immortal Fantasy

**Chapter 11: Immortal Fantasy**

**BPOV**

Running to my room, I thought of nothing other than my family. After I was changed, I wanted desperately to go find them. Every thought of them was a band-aid on my broken soul, holding my wounds together so I could get through the day. Without those memories, I cannot even begin to comprehend the state I would still be in today. I would be a monster feasting off innocent humans and having no desire to control my newborn rage. When I begin to lose myself in a moment of weakness, I need only think of Esme and Carlisle. The thought of shame crossing their faces at the notion of my actions, was worse than the pain of the venom. I desperately wanted to make them proud.

My mind went back to the meeting when Carlisle proudly looked over at me and said "You have done well, my child." I wanted nothing more than for him to wrap his arms around me and tell me that I was still part of his family. But the tie that bound me to the Cullen's was severed. How could I be a part of a family, when the person who brought me in did not want me anymore? The extent of what he had ripped away from me was finally looming over my head. At first, it was our future, our plans, and my heart. But now that I was grasping eternity, it was so much more than that. I would have willing given up Charlie and Renee, to be with him and his family. All of the sacrifices were worth it in the end to be with Edward. Now, I had surrendered all of them. Both of my families were out of my reach, and my soul mate did not love me. These were harsh realities to live with.

My body was curled up in a corner of my room lost in my thoughts. I knew Felix had followed me out of the meeting, but he had yet to say anything. He sat quietly on my couch leaving me to think. This was his trademark move when I was upset. His embrace normally made my sobbing worse at times like these, so he refrained from touch, content to just be with me if I needed him. The clock indicated that we had been like this for hours, but he never left me.

Her smell brought me out of my trance. She was sitting in front of me with tender eyes full of compassion. "Bella, it's time to tell me what happened. Aro knows about your relationship with him, so you don't have to hide it from me anymore. Please let me in Bella." She placed her tiny hand over my heart and locked her eyes with mine. I nodded my head, giving her permission to bend my will. She turned around to look at Felix. He lowered his head and left the room without a word, to give us privacy.

"I cannot even begin to tell you the amount of love I feel for Edward, Elle. I was positive he was my soul mate. Our relationship seemed so perfect, right from the beginning. He treated me like a princess. I had never felt more wanted and loved than when I was safely in his arms. The perfection of what we had was beautiful. I wanted forever with him the moment I knew the truth. He was my whole life." I could not even bring myself to sob anymore. The emotions had been too much lately for me to deal with. I was speaking to her with a blank and absent expression on my face, and she looked very worried. "He took me out to the forest a couple of days after my birthday. I had given myself a paper cut, and his brother reacted badly. I did not even blame him. You can only have so much control you know? I thought he was leaving because of what happened, but I was wrong. He looked me right in the face and told me he didn't want me anymore." I lowered my voice to a whisper. "He never loved me Elle."

Her arms wrapped around me in a comforting embrace. Hours passed again in darkness. The sadness started to give way to my shame and forming guilt. All this time, I had spent on the floor with thoughts of Edward, while never considering Felix's feelings. He had never failed me. Right from the beginning he only had my best interest at heart. He saved me and my father from certain death, and then held firm on his promise not to leave my side. We had formed a real friendship, and I knew he wanted more. I was so confused. I hungered for Edward to love me again, but at the moment I just wanted Felix to come hold me and again dull the burn.

"You know if you still want Edward to love you Bella…I could always make him." I had to laugh at the seriousness of her statement. She would do that for me without a second thought.

"That's very tempting Elle. What I'm struggling with is the fact that you would not have to make Felix."

"Your right; I've never had to make him do anything in regards to you Bella. He does it all on his own." She hugged me tighter, leaning in to kiss me on the head.

******************************

The footsteps outside my door became more frequent, letting us know it was morning time. I pulled myself to my feet and stretch my arms up above my head. There was a shout in the hallway that startled me for a second. "She doesn't need to see you right now. Why can you not wait for her to ask for you? She needs more time." Felix was attempting to keep away the visitors heading to my door. I looked at Elle in a panic. Did I want to see them right now?

"Look dude. She might not want to see him, but she'll want to see me. Now get out of my way before I remove you! You, nor anyone else, are going to keeping me from my sister."

The door swung open hard, smacking the wall with a loud crack. "Does somebody need a hug?" Emmett stood before me with his arm stretched out wide. My giggle was the only response he needed to rush to me. Once he sat me back on my feet, I noticed Carlisle standing back by the door with Edward. Edward was shooting daggers at Felix, looking nothing short of furious.

"Emmett, give her some room. You are going to smother her Son." Emmett stepped away from me a little at the instruction of his father. The wink he gave me calmed me even more.

"Excuse my manners. This is my friend Noel." She stepped forward to shake both Emmett and Carlisle's hand, before pausing to give Edward a "humph" sound, and returning to my side. I had not noticed before that Felix was standing in the corner of the room with his arms crossed, glaring right back at Edward. The mutual growling was getting a little out of hand, so I intervened. I lifted a finger up to my company to indicate I would need a minute, and then went to him.

"It's okay…I need to talk to them. I can't avoid them forever." Pausing to look at Edward, I rolled my eyes before saying, "Just ignore him Felix. Edward doesn't play well with others." That comment was rewarded with a nice little 'o' mouth expression from Edward. Felix reached up to brush a piece of hair behind my ear, and his action was met by another growl. He ignored it completely.

"Do you need anything? I could go buy you more books, maybe?"

"Felix, I haven't even read the book you brought me yesterday." I giggled. "I'd like time to enjoy that gift, actually." He smiled and nodded his head. "I'll be fine, really."

"You come straight to my room if you need anything. I'll be waiting with a prize to brighten your day."

I shook my head and said, "You are spoiling me…..I'll see you soon." I hugged his neck quickly and took my place back by Elle. Felix paused to look around the room and then left. Edward's face was littered with hurt and pain. It wasn't hard to determine what he was thinking.

"You let him buy you things?" The words were barely audible as they escaped through Edwards lips. I wasn't sure if I should even dignify him with an answer, but I didn't want to be rude in front of Carlisle.

"I am not in a position to deny things from the person who takes care of my most essential need." Edward's face dropped even more to my confusion. Elle let out a giggle she was apparently trying to stifle and I looked over to her with inquiry. She raised her eyebrows to make me see the double meaning my words had, and I noticed Emmett looked pissed off all of a sudden. Smooth Bella. I rolled my eyes a little annoyed at my stupidity.

"That came out wrong obviously. I'm sure you guys noticed my eyes. Well, Felix brings me blood from the blood bank. We could not risk my eyes turning gold, fearing hostility from the others here. When hunting was not an option, I was basically refusing to feed at all. I was so weak." I said shaking my head in thought. "He refused to watch me just waste away, so he found me an alternative that I could live with….I hope you're not too disappointed in me Carlisle." I dropped my head with my last statement.

I noticed Carlisle's shoes come towards me before I felt his hands on my shoulders. I looked up into his eyes as he began. "You have done nothing to be ashamed of my child. I am so proud of the way you have handled this entire situation." He brought me into his body and held me close to him for a moment before whispering into my ear. "I missed you Bella…please tell me how this happened." He continued to hug me a moment longer before stepping back. I sat back on my couch tucking my feet up underneath me. Elle joined me, grasping my hand into hers for support.

"After you left, I was…crushed. Charlie was so worried, that he tried to ship me off with Renee. I threw the worst tantrum to stay in Forks. I couldn't risk not being there is you came back for me." Edward's face twisted in pain, dropping his shoulders in a defeated manner. "I…I don't say this to hurt any of you. I just want you to understand." Elle gave me an encouraging smile.

"I want to hear your entire story, Bella. Do not edit for our sake. You deserve to lay it all on the table." Elle meant this as a pep talk, but I knew she was 'guiding' me to do what she thought was best.

"I convinced them to let me stay, once my tears had stopped. I put on a brave face and pretended that I wasn't hurting. I went to school, went to work, and went to my room. I tried very hard, but Charlie saw through me. I heard him make flight arrangements to Jacksonville a week before I was taken. The desperation took over me during that time. I stayed awake the entire week staring at my window, willing one of you to come through it." My face turned directly to Edward. "I thought I felt someone watching me, and I hoped you were out there. I came home from school and noticed the familiar sweet scent. I ran through the house screaming your name…but it wasn't you who was waiting in my living room." Emmett reached out to stop Edward from going to me. "Jane, Felix and Heidi knew immediately that I knew the secret when they heard me screaming your name. They had followed your scent to my house. That's why they found me."

I was interrupted by Edward, speaking urgently. "How did you stop them from killing you? Bella, love, how did you convince them to change you instead?"

Carlisle let out a warning. "Edward!"

I was blanketed with fury and rage. I took deep unnecessary breaths to calm myself. Elle abruptly stood up snapping at Edward. "I didn't figure you were very smart! You interrupt her again, and you will find you have an overwhelming desire to punch yourself in the face!" My three guests stared at her dubiously wondering if she was serious. I reached up for her hand and pulled her back to the couch, my eyes thanking her.

I thought I had myself under control, but opening my mouth I shouted, "YOU ARE AN AROGANT PRICK!" I threw myself off the couch and almost jumped on him. Emmett enfolded me in his arms restraining me from attacking his brother. "You think I asked for this! That I begged them to make me immortal? I wasn't given a choice! I let them take me to save Charlie. I never once assumed they were not going to kill me in the end. I protected my father, and I kept your secrets, but I NEVER asked for this. You still think of me as this silly human girl who fancied being a part of a fantasy. YOU ASSHOLE! I never wanted any of this without you!"

"NO! I didn't mean it like that! Please Bella. I'm so sorry!" Emmett let go of me, letting Carlisle take over. He rushed to Edward and began pulling him from my room. "I need to talk to you. Get your hands off me Emmett. I'm not leaving her! Bella...look at me...please!"

"Leave!" was all I managed to say before the sobbing started. My body slumped to the floor, still embraced by the man who I thought of as a father. "He took everything from me."

"Now you listen to me. This was a mistake. We never should have left you. I am so ashamed of myself for abandoning you! We are all to blame for what happened, and we're going to make it right. You are a part of our family, and you always have been. I am not going anywhere unless you tell me to go. I will not leave you again my child." He stroked my hair and rocked me back and forth as I sobbed. "We are still here for you. You have not lost us."

The shuffling of the feet must have been Elle leaving the room, for soon Felix walked through my door. "Bella! What's wrong?" Tugging me to my feet, he wrapped his arms around me. I saw Carlisle give him a little smile in appreciation, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a silver cell phone.

"Take my phone Bella. All our numbers are saved into the phonebook. We are not leaving Italy until you tell us to go. Please call us when you are ready to talk again." He leaned forward to gently place a kiss on my forehead, gave Felix's shoulder a squeeze with one hand, and then turned to walk out of my room.

Elle came to stand back beside the two of us. She looked at Felix and said with a smirk, "I think he likes you. Or at least he is thankful for you." Felix laughed and brought her closer to again put us in a group hug.

*********************************

The week following my run in with the Cullen's, drug on perpetually. Broken hearts do not stop the world from turning. I missed them already. Shamefully, I continued to cling to Felix. He spent every day in my room taking in the silence of our surroundings with me. I had overwhelming feelings of obligation toward him, and I was at a loss for how to handle the situation. I was content in Italy, it was true. But the thought of being in Esme's loving embrace brought a smile to my face every time. I missed my family. I wanted to be with them more than anything…at least that's what I thought. The love displayed by Elle and Felix tended to make my resolution change. I just didn't know if I could leave them. I used to curse the Cullen's for the abandonment they had inflicted on me. If I left my friends, how would I be any better than them? My heart was torn between what it wanted, and what my brain said was the right thing to do.

And then there was Edward. The memory of the fateful day in the forest was the clearest memory I had from my human life. I remembered all the important things about everyone else, but I just couldn't form any exact memories of Edward and myself together. If there were memories of him telling me he cared for me, then I couldn't recall them; though I could describe the pain of his departure in explicit detail. My heart hungered for Edward unmistakably. I knew I loved him, but sometimes I just didn't know why.

It was during this train of thought, two days after they had come to my room, when I decided I could not go another second without talking to Esme. I pulled the phone off the side table and searched for her number, pushing send without thinking twice. I closed my eyes and hoped she would want to talk to me.

"Carlisle!" Her voice was sweet and loving.

"No……..It's Bella." I heard her gasp and then scream for Alice. This caused me to giggle slightly.

"Oh, My beautiful Bella! Thank you so much for calling. I begged Carlisle to let me call, but he wanted things to happen at your pace. I miss you so much my daughter." I choked on my breath a little when she called me that. Did they all truly still see me as part of the family? "Bella, are you there honey?"

"Yes….I am so happy to hear your voice Esme. I missed you too." I was sobbing into the phone, and I knew they could both hear me. Esme's voice was still as compassionate as I remembered in my memories. "I don't remember much, but I do know that…….well I remember that you and Alice cared for me once. I feel so alone sometimes, and I will take all the love I can get. I just needed to hear your voices." I continued to sob. There was a shifting sound on the line, and then I heard Alice's voice rang out like bells.

"I love you Bella! I have always loved you. You are a part of this family, and you always will be. Don't ever doubt our love for you. He might have brought you in, but Edward was never the only one who loved you!" There was panic infiltrated in her words.

"Lov-ed me…That's exactly what I thought. I'll have to take you word on that one Alice, cause I only remember when he told me he didn't love me." I paused to change the subject off of Edward, but was interrupted by Esme's voice before I could start a new topic.

"I want you to come home Bella." I didn't mean to do it, but I could not get my crying under control. I ended up closing the phone and curling into a ball on my couch without even saying goodbye. She had said the one thing I needed, and I didn't even have to ask. It was exactly what I wanted, but only made me feel that much more guilty for the direction my heart was leaning towards.

The flowers came the same day I spoke to the two of them. Elle had come prancing into my quarters holding a massive vase filled roses, freesia, and orange blossoms. They were breath taking.

"Oh Bella dear? It looks like somebody has an admirer!" She was bouncing up and down again in the same way that Alice used too. The comparison had brought joy to me many times.

"Felix is so bad. What makes him think I need flowers?"

"No women 'needs' flowers Bella. But that doesn't stop us from wanting them. I bet he just wanted to brighten your day." She brought the flowers over to my table and sat them down, before reaching in to pull out the tiny card that was attached to them. Smiling radiantly, she held it out for me to take. The envelope was light blue with my name scrawled out in beautiful calligraphy. Once open, the first thing that jumped out at me was the Cullen crest stamped at the top. I sighed and told Elle it was from Edward, tossing it on the table without even reading it.

"Are you crazy Bella? Don't you even want to know what it says?"

"Actually I don't. I have let Felix indulge me with gifts out of appreciation and respect for what he has done for me. I never felt comfortable taking presents before, and Edward is well aware of that. That's why he was so concerned before with me letting Felix do it. He apparently has taken the liberty of assuming he can now do the same thing. It is presumptuous and insulting!"

"Oh Bella. You are so stubborn. You don't even know it's from him. It could be from any of them right?" She walked over to the flowers to pick the envelope back up. After opening the note inside and sighing she said, "Well I guess I was wrong. It is from Edward. What is 'The Meadow' Bella?"

I was a little taken back at her words. Instantly I plunged into a memory that I hadn't grasped until that moment.

_Edward and I were sitting in the middle of the most beautiful meadow I had every seen as he looked right at me and said, "You are the most important thing to me now. The most important thing to me ever…..And so the lion fell in love with the lamb….."_

"Our meadow." I whispered once the vision had ceased. "That's where he told me cared about me for the first time. I had forgotten all about that." I took the note out of Elle's hand without really looking up from my daze. Sure enough, it only had the words 'The Meadow' in the center of the page, while 'Edward' was signed at the bottom. What was he playing at? Elle had a smirk on her face as she leaned over to smell the flower arrangement.

"These kind of smell like you Bella." I looked over to study the flowers more closely and sort of laughed a tad….freesias.

"He told me I had a very floral scent…like freesias." I let Elle in on the joke and she started to laugh along with me. They came at least twice a day after that, sometimes more. It was always the same unique flower combination with the light blue envelope. The note inside continued to follow the same pattern as the first, with only the location changing.

Your Bedroom, Your Bed, My Room, The Hospital, Our Prom, My Piano, Your Lullaby, My Volvo, Your kitchen, Charlie's Couch, The Lunch Room, Biology

The list went on and on. After a week of constant flowers, my room was covered, and I had pulled tons of buried memories from my psyche. Alice must have told him I only remembered him saying he didn't want me. It would have been totally endearing, if it wasn't completely irrelevant. Proving he loved me then, said nothing of his feelings now.

"It looks like a flower shop exploded in here. You should have told me you liked flowers so much Bella. I could have drowned you in them just as easily." Felix laughed when he saw my annoyed look. "I just didn't take you for the flowers type of girl. Books always seemed like the more logical choice for you." His face told me he was questioning himself and he even looked a little jealous.

"These are the first flowers I think I've ever received. Don't worry; I loved all the books you gave me. Edward is just over compensating for whatever reason." I wasn't exactly sure how to talk to him about all this. I needed to change the subject quickly to spare us the conversation that needed to be had.

"Bella let me get you out of here! I was serious when I said you are drowning here with all these damn flowers. You need to get out of this castle, and get your mind off of things." He held his hand out to me, begging me to consent to his request.

"I can't Felix. I don't think I'm strong enough. What if I attack someone?"

"Don't worry honey; I'll take care of you." He grabbed my arm and gave it a light squeeze. "I haven't let you down yet have I? Don't you trust me?" All I could do was smile and nod. He spoke nothing but the truth, and did so with absolute sincerity. I might not have the person that I wanted, but I did have every ounce of the person I needed.


	12. Blood on My Hands

**Chapter 11: Blood on My Hands**

_**You owe me nothing for giving the love that I give  
You owe me nothing for caring the way that I have  
I give you thanks for receiving, it's my privilege  
And you owe me nothing in return**_

**EPOV**

I remembered being sprawled out on the Amazon floor, fighting the ach that resonated from the dead organ within my chest. The pain had literally brought me to my knees then. Now, after seeing the love of my life, immortal and clinging to a man who was not me, that former pain seemed rather insignificant. Nothing compared to this; Nothing.

Only Emmett's threat of castration was keeping me from going to her now, and it was basically unbearable. The emotional encounter in Bella's quarters was an eye opener. Only then did I fully grasp what I had done. The pain in her face, the agony and fury in her words, pierced every wall I had placed between us in an effort to stay away. I preached over and over in my head that I had left to protect her, to save her from this life, and give her back the opportunities my presence stole from her. Truthfully, I was a fraud. Of course I wanted her to have all those things, but in the end it all came down to me being scared. My mind was trapped in this fossilized existence, but I was once a human. Those irrational human fears of rejection and unworthiness didn't escape me simply because I was immortal. Thoughts of others had penetrated my mind for almost a century, but nothing prepared me for personally feeling the emotions, and dependency that Bella conjured within me. I needed every inch of her from the moment I first smelt her blood. I saw nothing beyond her; she was my life. What if she didn't want me one day? Human Bella put me up on a pedestal, but would immortal Bella?

Asking me to grant her immortality should have been the turning point in my self-deprecation. My selfish nature screamed out for me to concede to her request, and make her mine forever. It was the human side of me that said one day she would hate me for it. One day she would look back on the sacrifice she made, and despise me for convincing her this was the life she wanted. The thought of Bella hating me was too much to endure; I would not take her life from her. So I left to protect her, as well as myself. Arrogantly, I assumed she would look back on our times fondly. She could move on with her life; marry and have kids maybe? I would be nothing but a peaceful memory that wasn't mean to be.

I ignored Alice's plea for me to see reason. My sister was physic damn it…and yet I was convinced that I knew more than her…so arrogant. Esme and Carlisle were crushed at losing Bella, and torn between respecting my wishes versus abandoning someone they already saw as a daughter. Wielding my influence as their 'eldest child', I got my way…so condescending. When I told Emmett how I watched Bella's heart break right before my eyes as I told her I didn't want her anymore, he mentally punched me in the face. His thoughts screamed out violence toward me, but in the end he thought '_Shame on you'_ and just turned and walked away…so stupid. What was wrong with me?

Immortal Bella was stunning. For a moment I was caught up in the beauty that was now amplified with the change. But seeing her cling to Felix was just crushing. Listening to her speak her story about the months she spent in pain sent me into a form of hysteria. My thoughts were all over the place. I was pissed at myself for causing that torment. I kept thinking about the revelation that I had left her to fend off Victoria, and forced her to seek protection from werewolves. Irrational though it was, the notion that she had found a replacement in Felix was what sent me over the edge. The old feelings of not being good enough came back, and I lost hold of my sensibility. I basically accused her of begging the first vampire that came along to change her. Idiot. It was that one sentence that brought it all crashing down on me: the months of unnecessary mutual torture, the illogical feelings of abandonment, and the realization that all of it had been nothing but destructive, and pointless.

"I never wanted any of this without you."

And there it was. I had made so many mistakes, but no more. The immature vampire, who thought he knew everything and needed no one, was gone. The man who drowned himself in self loathing over something that he never chose nor had the chance to change, was gone. Bella made me want to be a better person. If it took the rest of eternity, I would spend every minute fighting to win back the love and trust she once so willingly laid upon my feet. I loved Bella with every ounce of emotion this granite heart could possess, and it was up to me to win back her love.

**BPOV**

Italy was magnificent. The air outside the castle walls held fresh perspective on everything that was pulsating through my mind. As promised, Felix held my hand and led me from my temporary prison. We ran east all the way to the coast, and it was exhilarating. Within the castle walls I had little opportunity to become accustomed to my new found abilities as a vampire. Before, running was merely an idea that I had knowledge of through the Cullen's. Now, as my legs carried me forward, my independence was evident with every tree that flashed past me, and it was a blessing.

The forest began to thin as we approached the cliff overlooking the breathtaking beach below. Remaining under the protection the trees provided through shade, I flopped down next to Felix to enjoy the view of the ocean. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the waves below crashing into the side of the cliff. It was beyond relaxing.

"You know, I had never left the country before. I always wanted to travel around Europe. I had grand plans for my life. I dreamed of gondolas in Venice, the blue oceans of Greece, and visiting every art museum in Paris. I wanted to see the square in Japan, winters in Russia, and hold one of those cute koala bears in Australia. I had planned to get my masters in literature and then maybe get married. I had high expectations Felix." I sighed and let my eyes drift back out to sea. It was painful to think of the things I lost to gain this new existence. Feeling pressure on my hand, I looked down to see Felix holding it and staring at my intensely.

"You can still have all of that Bella. Now, you just have more time to do all those things you dream of." He paused, searching deep into my eyes before taking a deep breath. "That life was over. Jane would have killed you right there in your father's house. I know it wasn't your choice, but I couldn't just let you die Bella. Please, understand that this was your only way to have what you are talking about. It was the only salvation I had to offer." He dropped his head, released my hand and covered his face. It was these moments that warmed my heart so much to him.

"I forgive you." He gasped at my words, and looked stunned. "I asked for this once upon a time. I asked for it, and was prepared to embrace it. It's true; when it was forced upon me without my consent I was furious. But please know Felix that I understand what you did for me. The fact that I resent what I am at the moment, has no bearing on the fact that I'm still alive because of you. I am forever indebted to you."

"No Bella! I am your maker, but I am not your master. You do not owe me anything. I just want you to me happy. I knew you were special. From the first moment I saw you, you intrigued me. You were so beautiful. You deserved to live, and it was a gift I was happy to give. When you care about someone, you give them everything you have, and then you ask for nothing in return. You owe me nothing Bella." Our hands joined as he pulled me up to my feet. The features of his face were sharp and proved to be a great asset for his ability to dazzle me in the moment. The love flowing from his face was intoxicating.

"I could love you for eternity. I would take care of you in every way imaginable. I would spoil you with everything you ask for, and all the things you don't. We could have that grand life you imagined and so much more. I want you to choose me Bella." If tears were capable of escaping my eyes, they would be leaving streams down my cheeks. He was so sincere as he spoke. "I have always respected you and your choices, and I won't change that now. I want you to be mine, Bella, but not as much as I want you to be happy. I gave you this second chance, but it's still your life. Just be happy."

I felt his body inch closer to mine and I froze. What did I want? Who would make me happy? I wasn't ready to make this choice yet. Nor was a sure there was even a choice to be made. His face leaned further into me until his lips were inches from mine prepared to take them with approval. Even though I was still undecided, I closed my eyes to let him have what he was asking for.

The bag of bricks that smacked me in the face in the form of the exquisite scent of human blood saved me from making the choice immediately. My eyes shot open and I pushed Felix away from me forcefully. He looked hurt for a brief second before I took off running towards my prey. I had zero control over my body as I ran forth to hunt, controlled completely by the blood lust.

Massive arms wrapped tightly around my waist as I was pulled to a dead stop from my run.

"Stop Bella! You know this isn't what you want!" I freed one of my hands from his hold before pulling back to punch him straight in the face. He flew back and hit a tree, sending a resounding crack throughout the forest. I pumped my legs faster to get further away from Felix, while drawing me closer to my victim. The man was walking peacefully along the trail, blissfully unaware that his life was seconds away from being ripped from him. I lunged forward, grabbing his arm. I swung him around and flung his body into a tree. There was a loud snap as he slammed to the ground clutching his upper thigh. He let out a gut wrenching wail, desperately trying to get up and flee. I started to walk toward him, with a sadistic smile on my face, but was encased with Felix's arms again. I thrashed widely, eager to get to the blood that was already flowing from the wound caused by the break.

Abruptly, I was pulled to the ground again my not one set of arms, but three. I continued to fight, even after I realized who was holding me. There were moments of conversation that broke through the insanity that I was experiencing.

"Bella, love, you are better than this."

"Stop lil sis, I don't want to hurt you."

"This isn't what you want Bella!"

Their faces came into focus, and I was utterly ashamed at what was taking place. Emmett, Edward and Felix all held me down, as the man continued to scream both out of fright and pain. My body erupted into deep, heavy, dry sobs. "Oh god, I'm so sorry! I'M SO SORRY!" I screamed in the direction of my former prey.

Edward pulled me to my feet, while still holding me tightly with Emmett's assistance.

"It's okay Love. He'll be fine. It'll be okay." Edward whispered over and over into my ear. A movement out of the corner of my eye drew my gaze. I watched in horror as Felix approached the terrified human. He leaned down, and with little effort, snapped his neck. The screaming stopped.

My eyes were wide as saucers, as I looked at Felix's non repentant face. Pulling away from Edwards embrace, I ran. I couldn't bare what had just happened because of me. The footsteps behind me were immediate and I knew that I could run from here to Russia, and they would follow. When I was convinced I was far enough away from the carnage I dropped to my knees clutching my head.

"Stay away from me! Don't touch me!" I rocked back and forth on the forest ground, willing the image soldered into my mind to go away. More footsteps approached as a held the sound of two boulders crashing into together, and then shouting.

"How dare you kill him in front of her! Couldn't you have controlled yourself just this once! She was horrified!" Edward's musical voice shouted furiously in the direction of Felix.

"I didn't drink from him Cullen! I protected Bella and her wishes. I stopped her from doing what she would have regretted, but the damage was already done. The human could not have been allowed to leave after what had happened! I protected her from future ramifications!"

"Don't try to play the hero now you son of a bitch! You want me to pat you on the back for protecting her after you took her life!"

"You damned her the moment you left her alone to fend for herself Cullen! You took her life! I only fixed your selfish mistake!"

"ENOUGH!" I shouted to no one in particular. Felix and Edward continued to stare at each other with fury, as Emmett gave me a very sympathic look. "I'm ready to go back." Both took a step toward me before Edward let out a growl from deep in his chest. Felix followed suit. I glanced from Felix to Edward annoyingly, before walking straight toward my big brother.

"Emmett, please get me out of here." I wrapped both arms around his waist as he lead me forward, away from twiddle Dee and twiddle Dum.

A/N This chapter was very important for Bella to understand that even though Felix loves and respects her, he is still very different from Edward. In a major way.


	13. The Nerve to Adore You

**Chapter 13: The Nerve to Adore You**

"_And you come away with a great little story, _

_of a mess of a dreamer, with the nerve to adore you."_

**BPOV**

"What happened Bella? Are you alright? Where is Felix?" Elle had entered my chambers to find me curled up on my couch; Emmett stroking my back gently. She was concerned at the state I appeared to be consumed in, and it was a concern that was completely founded. I felt lost again in that forest, hopelessly searching for someone who would never reach for my hand. Felix's revelation of love should have calmed the torturous feeling of abandonment; it did not.

When Edward left, I blamed myself more than him. He was this perfect being who sat atop the pedestal I placed him on. I never understood how he could want me, nor did I ever feel I deserved him. My heart was left devastatingly broken when he left, although I almost accepted it as inevitable on an unseen level. As I lay on the soggy forest floor, immersed in my sorrow, I realized every self doubt I had nagging at my subconscious had just come to pass. I was in fact not good enough for Edward Cullen. Every promise of adoration and love meant nothing in the end. He had protected me from myself and built up my hopes of a future with him, but when it came down to forever, I was not worth it. Weak, and broken, he left me hating myself for not being enough to keep him. It didn't dawn on my then, but now I see that was the worst thing he did when he left. He made me hate me.

And now, with Felix professing his desire for eternity together, I felt more hurt than ever. Felix so easily loved me whole heartedly. Though he took care of me in many aspects, he also respected my choices and opinions. He treated me as his equal, and wanted me as his partner. Why was I good enough for him, but not Edward?

Apparently deciding that I was not going to answer Elle, Emmett intervened. "She tried to feed. We stopped her before she did anything she would regret, but I think it really upset her."

"Oh Bella. I'm so sorry honey! You cannot be so hard on yourself. You have done exceptionally well." She leaned forward onto her knees to brush the hair back out of my eyes. Her hands continued to move through the brown waves in a manner meant to sooth me.

"Until we get you off this diet Bells, you can't expect to be able to have much control of the bloodlust. It's natural for you to crave it. Your body is used to having it. It will wane substantially when you switch to animal blood."

"Weren't you listening before Emmett? I can't risk feeding on animals here." I snapped annoyed, pulling myself into an upright position to better convey my feelings to him.

"Of course you can't. I get the need to keep up appearances. But once you're away from here, you can lead the life you know you want." He chuckled a tad; looking at me like what he said was obvious.

"I have nowhere else to go." My head dropped into my hands dejected. Emmett jerked his body further in my direction and stared at me with a very confused expression. He opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it, shaking his head.

Collecting my tiny hand into his, he spoke. "Bella I want you to listen to me, so there is absolutely no confusion. We are your family, and we are here to take you home. If we didn't want you, we would not still be in Italy. We are here for you. Though I want it to be your choice Bella, I'm not above using force to get you back home to Esme and Alice. You know me, and I'm not like Carlisle. So that means I'm not going to sugar coat this. . I love you. I know everyone else loves you. Don't shut out your family because he's an idiot. Don't suffer for his mistakes." On instinct I pulled my hand away from him and put it over my mouth. We locked eyes and silence took over the room. His face showed he was stead fast in his proclamation. He meant every word he said.

"BELLA!" The door was abruptly flung open to reveal a very concerned Felix. He crossed the room in record speed to embrace me. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry I wasn't more careful. I should have been paying more attention to our surroundings. He just came out of nowhere. Please forgive me!"

Honestly I was a little hesitant to hug him back. Felix fed on humans. This was common knowledge that he never tried to hide from me or say otherwise. However, I had never been to another feast after the first disaster, and therefore never had seen him kill. Of course I understood the rationale behind the death of the hiker I attacked, but still I couldn't get over the image of his neck being snapped or the eerie abrupt stop of his screams. My actions, my weakness, had ended that man's life, and for that I was ashamed. The dirty deed fell on Felix, but the blood stained my hands.

Elle let out a huff behind me, alerting us to the new occupant in the room. Raising my eyes over the arms embracing me, I saw the beautiful being standing in the doorway. The arms around me tighten before I pushed Felix back a little from his chest. Our eyes locked and I poured my desire for his understanding into my gaze. Catching my drift, he groaned a little and released me, annoyed. I resumed my position back on the couch next to Emmett. His caresses returned to my shoulders.

"Why must you always have your hands on her brother?" What an odd thing for Edward to say. Surely he wasn't jealous of Emmett? That was just ridiculous. My face was contorted in a shocked and slightly hurt expression as I stared across the room at him. His comment was nothing compared to what happened next. I saw his fingers close tightly into a fist before he pulled his arm back and then snapped it forward to land his fist square on the side of his cheek. Did that just happen?

There was a universal gasp that permeated the room. "Dude, did you just punch yourself in the face?" shouted a very amused Emmett. His chuckles shook the couch as it dawned on me what had just taken place.

"Elle?" I asked. "Was that really necessary?"

"I warned him not to be rude to you Bella. If you did not want Emmett touching you then you would handle it yourself. He needs to learn some respect for you. You're not his property." Turning her death glare to Edward, she smirked and moved her head in a little circle to convey her 'what are you going to do about it' message. His mouth dropped open before he raised his hand to stare at it, still entirely confused at what had just made him strike himself.

"Wait, you made him do that?" Emmett asked Elle. "You made him punch himself in the face?" The laughter echoed throughout the room from everyone right as it dawned on Edward what had happened. He frowned and then crossed his arms over his chest.

"Wow, that is amazing Noel. My wife would love you. So you basically can make people do whatever you want? Rosalie would kill for that power." Emmett asked.

"Something like that yeah. It's a very subtle ability, and if you don't mind I would like to keep it that way." She replied back as Felix reached out to hug her. She willing accepted his affection with a smile on her face. Taken back slightly with jealousy, I let my emotions settle on my face. Edward must have caught my moment of weakness, for he groaned, slid down the far wall and held his hands in his face. I had an overwhelming urge to run to him and pull him into my body. I jerked my hand out to grab Emmett in order to keep my feet planted in place. Transparent as ever, Emmett smiled and nodded his head realizing my intentions.

"Alright you two. I think it's time for a tour of the castle." He moved forward to wrap his arms around my friends, pulling them to the door. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw both of them turn their heads back to me, but I never looked away from the crumbled man on the floor.

"E-Edward?" It was barely a whisper, but he raised his head and was shocked that we were alone. "Why so sad?" He literally laughed a little with that question.

"Bella, I just-punched-myself-in-the-face." His head bobbed back in forth as he enunciated every word, holding both hands up. "God, can you imagine if Rosalie would have seen that?" I laughed. I couldn't help it.

"Don't worry; I'm sure Emmett will fill her in." He stood up and put his hands on his hips as I continued to giggle. "Elle is fiercely loyal, and she doesn't like repeating herself. To be fair, she did warn you before. Humm, the Cullen women would love her." I pointed out. He was trying to be annoyed, but his eyes were sparkling with pleasure. Putting my hands up in surrender, I smiled at him to let him know I would be nice.

"I see you got my flowers." Crossing the floor he went to put his nose up to the freesias.

"Yes. Freesias. I remembered that." I murmured. I guess it was finally time to have this conversation.

"I hope you remember quite a few more memories now Bella." His pacing started to increase as he made circles around the room. His nervous twitches were alternating between running his hands through his hair and wringing them together.

"No offense, but given the situation, I think I could have done without remembering some of those things." The pacing came to an immediate stop.

"How could you even say that, Bella? I have lived for over a century, and every one of those memories is by far the highlights of my existence."

Without speaking, I stared at him for an undetermined amount of time. The hole in my chest began throbbing with the familiar pain of rejection, and it hurt. He spoke these words not realizing how much they ripped deep into my soul. I cherished every one of the memories he gave me back with his flood of flowers. But why would he?

"Are you trying to hurt me?" I said solemnly.

"Wait, no. Why would...think…I don't want to ever hurt you again. Every day, every second for the last five months I have thought of nothing but you. Your face kept me going when I literally wanted to die. I missed you so much."

From my perch on the couch, I could do nothing but stare at him. I hugged my knees tighter to my body while resting my chin upon them. Human Bella would have screamed that he was lying, and that he didn't give a damn about her. That Bella was dead. Instead, I closed my eyes and gathered my emotions into a tight pool within my chest, suppressing them. Edward Cullen would not break me today. Today, I would get answers.

"Those memories…all those promises….what did I do wrong? We seemed so happy. But the forest…what did I do to deserve that?" He dropped back down to the floor in front of me, hiding his face my view. His refusal to look into my eyes was getting very old. "You will look at me Edward." I snapped. "You flood my room with flowers, you follow me outside the castle, and now you make me remember all these things that cause me pain. Human Bella might have played along with your games, but this Bella is highly irritated with Cowards. I deserve answers."

"Playing games? That's what you think this is? Our relationship was not consumed of only those good memories, but also of incredible danger. I was careful not to make you recollect those times, but you need to understand that you did nothing to make me leave Bella." He spoke, while scooting a little closer to me. "The first day we met, I almost killed you. Your blood sang out to me, and it took every fiber in my being not to drain you dry. Every second we spent together was a constant fight against my nature. I've never wanted to kill anyone as bad as you. Then, to play a sick game with me, another vampire tried to kill you. It broke my heart watching you lie in that hospital, knowing I was the sole reason you were there. You were broken and bleeding, and I was the reason. Before I left, you turned 18. Alice forced you to come over for a birthday party at our house. Opening one of your present, you gave yourself a small paper cut. My own brother almost ended your life! And if that wasn't enough, I shoved you out of the way and sent you sailing into a table, cutting your arm on broken glass. I did that Bella. Not some rogue vampire. Not my brother whose control sometimes falters. Me. Again, you were broken and bleeding, and I was to blame. Our presence in your life was dangerous. We only brought you more pain. I wanted you to have a long life with a husband and children. I couldn't give that to you, Bella. It tore a hole into my soul, but I left to give you that." His trembling was growing stronger. Shaking from the dry sobs, he waited for my reply.

"I was never meant to have all that Edward. This was the direction my life was always supposed to take. I was meant to be immortal; Alice saw it. But because you ignored what I wanted for myself, you turned what could have been beautiful into a nightmare. My connection to the Cullen's should have been sealed through the passage of venom, but instead I had to put my life and trust into the hands of a stranger. I was in pain, and my family was nowhere near me. I woke up to a STRANGER, instead of my family!" I spoke, getting louder with the frustration that was rising from the pool in my chest. How dare he do this to me? "I'm inclined to believe that you didn't leave for me at all! Were you tired of resisting my blood…tired of protecting me? Things got hard, so you RAN! That's what really happened. I was never your equal; never your partner! Fragile human Bella, must need a vampire with a SUPIORITY COMPLEX, because she's too dense to make her own choices?" I chided, in a mocking voice. "I was so stupid to think you actually wanted me. Look at you! What possibly made me think that you would want THIS! I was always just this little girl to you; a mess of a dreamer with the nerve to adore you!"

Rational Bella had flown the coup a little bit by this point. The newborn emotions I was trying to control started to take over. The book sitting on the table next to my couch was thrown at his head. He ducked and it missed. Damn it! Embracing my new abilities, I ran at vampire speed to my bookcase for more ammunition. The next book found its target; and then the next and the next. No longer trying to dodge my assault, he stood with his arms outstretched to the side, eyes closed, consenting to my rage. One last book hit his face as my feet took me toward him a step.

"LOOK AT ME!" I screamed. "Do I still look weak to you?!" I turned back to the bookcase. Lifting it easily, I spun and threw it across the room, causing it to splinter into a thousand pieces upon impact. His eyes widened in surprise. "I don't need a father to make choices for me. I don't need you to be my savior!" Marching over to him with authority, I stopped merely a foot from him. "I don't need anyone. I-can-take-care-of-myself!" Each word was broken up by the sound of me hitting myself in the chest with an open hand.

Unexpectedly, he closed the gap between us and grasped both my wrists. Our eyes locked and he spoke, "I know you can. But you don't have to." I let out a wail, succumbing to the sobs. My head found its familiar place in his chest, as he held me to him. "I have made so many mistakes. My biggest regret is making you feel anything less than divine. I will spend the rest of eternity proving to you how incredible you are, if only you'll let me." He pulled me back placing both hands on my shoulders, looking right into my eyes. "Bella, from the first moment I saw you, you have been my entire life. I'm sorry I did this to you. You are right about everything. You deserve better than the way I treated you. I'm sorry I lied, when I said I did not want you. And I'm so sorry we were not all there when you woke up. I have no right to ask for you to love me in return, but I want you too. I love you Bella. I have always loved you."

Placing his hand on my cheek, he leaned in and softly put his lips to mine.

**APOV**

"Esme, I am going crazy! What if they can't bring her home? I miss her so much. I want to go to her. I miss my sister!" I was furiously pacing around the living room of the Chicago house. Fighting the urge to run straight to Bella was proving to be very difficult. I knew she had taken great care in keeping me from Aro, and I was trying to respect her wishes. But I yearned for her.

I shrill ring came from my tiny cell phone in the other room and I dashed over to it. _Please be Bella. Please be Bella_. I chanted in my head. The number that flashed on the screen was not one I knew, but contained a Forks area code. That was odd. I shrugged and flipped the phone open.

"Hello?" I said.

"Umm…yeah…is this Alice Cullen?" The scruffy voice said on the other line.

"Who is this? How did you get this number?"

"Sorry…umm…you called last time from this number, and well we saved it just in case something came up…and well…something came up." What the hell?

"Okay…you still didn't tell me who this is?" I told the voice, getting very annoyed.

"Oh yeah, right. This is Jacob Black?…umm." He paused to sigh. It didn't sound like he was very happy to be making this phone call. "So I know I wasn't at the last meeting with you, but...well…I'm in the loop now, I guess you can say. And I'm pretty sure you guys know who I am."

"Alright Jacob Black. I'm assuming you have a reason for calling me?" Yes, I was growing very annoyed.

"We sort of have an issue going on back here in Forks, and for some reason Sam thinks that you guys would want to know about it, and possibly even help." He snarled. "We've been doing the best we can, but more keep coming. We failed to protect Bella, but damn it we are going to keep Charlie safe!"

My eyes widened with understanding at what the mutt was trying to express. "CHARLIE! What do you mean keep Charlie safe? What is going on!" I screamed at him. The shouts brought Esme in from the other room and she stood in front of me, hands over her mouth.

"It started out just one vampire, then two and then three. Every time we kill them, more just come back. The last batch had six. They come to town and make a beeline right toward him. The numbers just keep growing. I can't even think what might happen if they bring more than we can handle. It kills me to ask this…believe me when I say that. But I'm not too proud to ask for help if it means that Charlie will live."


	14. Losing Those We Love

**Chapter 14: Losing Those We Love**

**APOV**

"Call back and tell them the four of you are on your way. We will be there are soon as we can. I need to talk to Bella. I CANNOT leave without her." Carlisle's voice was frantic on the other line. Normally a man of incredible poise, it was disturbing to hear my father so distraught. "Do you see anything Alice?"

"Aro will deny her request to leave. She won't be able to come back with you."

**CPOV**

Four months had passed since I laid eyes on my baby girl. Four months of search parties, flyers, interrogations, and dead ends. Four months to the day, that for the second time in my life, I had failed the two people I cared the most for. Bella was gone. We found no trace of her anywhere. All her belongings lay untouched in her room, with not a single possession missing. It was a memorial to the failure I was to her. I failed to keep our family together all those years ago, and now I failed to protect my only daughter when she put her life in my hands.

I had done so many things wrong. Her intelligence and ambition intimidated me, and because of that, I let her achievements go unacknowledged. The maturity she possessed should have made any parent proud. When so many teenagers were off causing trouble at parties and testing their limits, she was home every night to make sure her dad had a home cooked meal. Her heart was so big. The last time I verbally told Bella I loved her she was eleven. What kind of father doesn't tell their child they are loved? And then, as if to compensate and fill the void, she gave every piece of her heart to that boy. The boy I let destroy everything that was innocent and beautiful within her. If I was stronger, I would have insisted she go to Jacksonville with her mother. If I had, then maybe none of this would have happened. But I caved to her tears and my selfish desire to keep her near me. And now, she was gone. Stolen from the place she begged to stay in. I should have been stronger.

"Charlie?" The door creaked slowly open as Jacob stepped through looking distraught. "Dad's meeting us at the church. Are you ready?"

"Yeah, let's get this over with." I stood, feeling as if I was weighed down by a ton of bricks. I caught a glimpse of the pictures that lined the mantle, and I shivered at the sight. Just like her mother, she would always be in this house; her presence clinging to the walls, forbidding me to forget. "We really have to do this huh."

"I wish we didn't Charlie. But everyone is waiting on us." He stepped out of the way of the door to let me walk past him. The sky was a horrible shade of grey, with drizzle falling all around. The dark atmosphere set the tone of the day perfectly. I somehow managed to get in Billy's truck and close the door. My eyes locked straight forward, looking through the windshield, still not believing what I was fixing to do.

_"She didn't run away Charlie. You know Bella wouldn't have done that. She cared about you too much. I don't think she's coming back. It's time to put her to rest." Billy's face was filled with tears; breaking the news to me I was refusing to accept. He was right. A memorial was necessary for everyone to heal, but I saw it as giving up. _

_"How do I say goodbye without knowing for sure Billy? She could still be alive…We never found a body. How do I bury her without a body?" I let the tears escape my eyes before I covered my face with my hands. _

_"You might not ever find one. You could torture yourself for years, and still never find one. You need a chance to mourn her Charlie. We all need a chance."_

The ride to the memorial was silent, broken up only by the sounds of our breaths. When the church came into view, it was a site to behold. The cars stretched around the block, taking up every available inch of space. The whole town must have come out to pay their respects. So many lives my Bella touched.

"I always loved her you know." I never turned my head to the voice that came from my left. Trying not to break down right there in the truck, I took a moment to compose myself.

"Thank you for loving her Jake." I spoke solemnly before pushing myself out of the truck. The humming noise of voices stopped as soon as I open the double doors at the back of the church sanctuary. There were teenagers on every side of me crying for the friend they lost, or the one they never got to make. The Quileute's sat at the front of the church in a massive group, though most seemed to be supporting the four huge men that sat in the front pew. The biggest of the four was Sam Uley, and he seemed to be the most tore up. Jacob made his way over to them, and took a seat next to Sam. When did Jacob get so big?

The service went on with me being only half there. Occasionally, a memory expressed from someone at the altar would make its way to me, and I would succumb to a fresh wave a tears. I blocked out the majority of what was taking place, but I couldn't hide from that song.

_You used to captivate me_

_By your resonating light_

_Now I'm bound by the life you left behind._

_Your face it haunts_

_My once pleasant dreams_

_Your voice it chased away_

_All the sanity in me_

_These wounds won't seem to heal _

_This pain is just too real_

_There's just too much that time cannot erase_

My body started to shake. The tears flowed freely, and yet I was not ashamed. I closed my eyes and lost myself in a world that held nothing but me and my torment. She stood before me beautiful and innocent. Arms wrapped tightly around her chest, she whispered "_I love you daddy."_ The song played in the background; a soundtrack to my solitude of pain.

_When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears_

_When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears_

_And I held your hand through all of these years_

_But you still have_

_All of me_

_I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone_

_But though you're still with me_

_I've been alone all along_

The movement in front of me brought me back from my distant place. A figure stood before me for only a moment before dropping to their knees. Hands that where so tiny they could be those of a child, took hold of both of mine. The connection caused me to flinch at the feeling of bitter cold. Slowly I raised my head to lock eyes with an old friend. "Alice?"

**BPOV**

My lips lingered on his as my mind took me to memories of laying in our meadow. His beautiful face was sparkling in the sunlight, looking at me as if I was a perfect diamond he had hand-picked. I felt his arms embracing me with tender care, and his voice whispering words of adoration. I broke the connection at our mouths as my body slumped to the floor. I sat with my legs curled behind my body, my left hand on the floor and my right clutching at my heart.

"It hurts Edward. It hurts so much." My body relinquished itself to the pain I had pushed into a pool in my chest, washing over me quickly as the sobbing increased. I willed myself to stop this demonstration of weakness, even though I knew that it was too late. Bravery wasn't locking away your feelings and putting on a performance. No, bravery was being honest with yourself regardless if it hurt, and I was done being weak. Immortal Bella was brave. She opened up the pool of hurt, abondanment, resentment, obligation, desire, and love. I fearlessly embraced every emotion that surfaced as I slumped down to the floor. Hours dragged on with me lying on the ground. Edward lay across from me with his head perched on top of a bent arm, and one hand reaching across to hold mine. We stared into each other's eyes in silence until he finally spoke.

"I heard what he told you in the forest. He wants to be with you." I nodded my head and he continued. "You know he isn't like us. Can you live with that?" Pausing to gauge my reaction, he whispered, "Do you love him Bella?"

"He saved me. The others wanted to kill me, but he saved me the only way he knew how. He held me almost the entire time while I changed, allowing his body to dull the burn. I woke up to his embrace. He kept me alive when I refuse to live. I owe him so much." I knew I was hurting him. It certainly was not my intention to, but he needed to grasp the full consequences of his actions. As much as Edward wanted it to, saying 'I love you' did not erase the last six months. "I miss all of you so much. Every day was almost unbearable. I felt broken and abandoned, but Felix never left my side. He is important to me. I don't know if I love him, but I am not sure I can leave him." He gasped and tightened his hold on my hand. Scrunching his eyebrows together in pain, he closed his eyes, still holding on to me for dear life. "I still love you Edward." His eyes shot open in shock. "But I don't know if that's enough anymore."

**APOV**

Charlie cried on my shoulder for the rest of Bella's funeral. I sat next to him on the pew, desperately wanting to ease the pain of the man I had grown very much attached to. I expected the wolves to be furious at our contact, but upon looking in their direction, they just seemed sad. My heart ached for all of the people in this room, pouring out their love for my sister.

When the service concluded, I wrapped my arms around Charlie, and led him outside. A women who was introduced to me as Sue Clearwater, came to take Charlie to his house. I begrudgingly released my hold of him, letting her take over his care. "Carlisle called in a prescription to help you sleep Charlie." I looked to Sue and asked, "Will you pick it up? He needs his rest. I'm worried about him." She nodded with a little smile and led him out to the parking lot. They retreated to her vehicle, leaving me to reflect on how hard it was to let him leave my sight. The tall man that approached me from the left was unfamiliar. I cocked my head to the side with a questioning look.

"Jacob Black?" I asked. He nodded, shooting worried glances in all directions as if he was searching for someone.

"I'm the only one here. The others are at the house. We didn't want to upset you." He looked at me incredulously before he spoke.

"Yeah…well…Charlie appreciated you being here…so thanks." He started to shuffle his feet in a nervous manner. Looking away from his face, the site in front of me was a little scary. Behind him stood four men, equally as massive and just as intimidating. My eyes widen and I took a step back. Jacob responded immediately, shaking his head and putting both hands up in front of him in a show of surrender.

"We won't hurt you Alice. We just want to set up a meeting with all of you. Can you meet us at the line tonight at 1am?" I nodded at him, showing my agreement to his terms. The man I spoke to at the last meeting step forward and took Jacob's place at the head of the pack.

"Thank you for coming back." He said.

"Of course we came. I love Charlie. I'll do anything to protect him." He paused to stare at me for a moment, seemingly at a loss for words.

"We'll see you then." And with that, they all turned and walked away.

**BPOV**

"I will never stop fighting for you love. I will not give up on us again. You are still my world Bella; the only light that brightens my darkness. My heart has always, and will always belong to you. I never stopped loving you, and I never will. Take your time to figure out what you want. I'll be here waiting." Edward spoke honestly in his beautiful velvet voice. I missed that voice. His kiss still left my lips tingling even hours later, making the desire to pull him to my body overwhelming. Confusion was a deplorable emotion.

"Still the masochistic lion I see." He smiled as he pulled me to my feet while holding both my hands. His lips changed into a crooked smile that about made me melt.

"Indeed." He said, reaching his hand out to caress the side of my cheek. No longer of different body temperatures, his touch felt warm and comforting. Closing my eyes to savor the feeling, I leaned my face into his stroke, attempting to prolong it.

"BELLA! EDWARD!" There was a loud smack as the door flew open, exposing Carlisle. Hearing the commotion, Felix and Elle came sprinting into my room as well, sporting looks of concern and confusion.

"WHAT!" Edward shouted, apparently responding to whatever was streaming from the panicked mind of his father. "Who is it Carlisle?"

"Edward, stop that. Talk out loud. What is going on?" I asked.

"We need to leave Bella. I'm sorry to force this on you. We wanted it to be your decision, but now we have no choice. It's time to leave." Carlisle's panic was terrifying. Seeing him this way was very unnerving, and it brought out my own emotions on unrest.

"What are you talking about? Tell me what is going on!" I screamed.

"There is a problem back in Forks. We're not sure who, but someone is after Charlie. We need to get back to help protect him Bella." Coming forward he placed both hands on my shoulders, locking eyes with me. "I told you we weren't leaving without you again, and I meant it. I wish there was time for you to chose, but there just isn't. We need to leave now."

"Someone is after Charlie! Why? Wait, I can't just leave. What about my friends? And Aro? He's not just going to let me leave Carlisle!"I was pacing in front on all the worried and anxious eyes, attempting to grasp the situation that I was facing. He was right, of course. I needed to protect my dad. I owed him that and so much more. I didn't give my life months ago to protect him, only for someone else to swoop in a steal his by force. Red was starting to cloud my vision. How dare anyone threaten my father!

The rage was interrupted then by the tiny hand that lay on my arm. Looking up, I found the caring eyes of my friend. "Don't worry Bella. I'll just go with you. You're not staying behind just for us. I would never forgive myself if I held you back. Plus, I really want to go shopping with this Alice I've heard so much about." Elle chuckled as I embraced her fiercely. Releasing my hold, I turned to find Felix. Extending my hand out to him, I bit my lip and waited for him to take it. My loyalties were of course to my Dad, but this was one person I couldn't leave behind. Whether it be for familiarity, friendship, or love; I needed him.

"Will you come with us? I can't go without you."

"Of course! We saved him together last time, and we will do it again. I will go wherever you are, for as long as you want me." Putting his arms around me, I leaned into his body, resting my head on his chest. My loyal companion; always eager to give me anything I desired. A groan rang out in the distance, but we both ignored it.

***************************************

As one group, we made our way to Aro's study. Carlisle had assured me the law said Aro could not keep me here against my will, but the unnerving feeling was still present deep in my chest. I had displayed my powers abundantly and knew they were something he coveted even before I became immortal. Regardless of all their faith, I knew this meeting was not going to go in our favor.

After Demetri had spoke with Aro about our wishes to speak to him, we were let into the study. Felix was holding my hand, standing on my left, while Edward stood next to me on the right. Elle's presence radiated from behind me.

"Carlisle, what is the meaning of all this?" Aro sat behind his desk, hands folded in front of him.

"I am coming to say goodbye friend. We have a situation that requires our attention back with the rest of our family, and we need to get to them as soon as possible." Carlisle had a very stern face on.

"Oh dear. What is this situation? Maybe we can be of assistance to you."

"No No Aro. It is nothing you need to concern yourself with. They are merely matters that of importance to my family."

Aro looked like he was getting frustrated. "Am I missing something here Carlisle, or are you purposely trying to be coy?" He snapped.

"Bella wishes to return with us. She misses my family, and the feeling is mutual. Noel and Felix are going to be accompanying us as well." Carlisle was attempting to convey authority with his words, but I could tell he was worried that Aro was not going to see things his way.

"Humm….interesting. The other two are not bound to us, so they are free to leave of course. Our guard will miss your presence Felix. You were always a great asset in our quest for justice and peace." He said in his direction. "I'm afraid however, that Bella will have to stay with us. I granted her this life, and that owes a certain amount of loyalty."

"SHE DOESN'T OWE YOU ANYTHING!" Edward growled through gritted teeth. Felix reached around me to put his hand on Edwards shoulder. He sent a look over to him to command him to shut his mouth, though I knew he was speaking to him mentally.

"Aro, I am aware that you gave me permission to change her, but you are also aware that I had made the decision to do so long before you had your input. I am still Bella's maker. Not you. If she owes anyone her loyalty, it is me." Edward growled beside him, and I felt Felix grip his shoulder tighter. "As her maker, I will be happy to take her place. I will do whatever you want Aro. But Bella is leaving with the Cullen's."

The floor was still my chosen focal point, as usual. Here Felix was again, desperately trying to do whatever he could to ensure my happiness. What could I have possibly done to deserve such devotion? Both my suitors were so resolved to their feelings, and yet I was baffled as to what I wanted. The notion of being in love with two different men was just unreasonable. Love isn't meant to be shared in that way. But here I was standing in between the two men of my dreams, hopelessly attempting to convince myself that it was not okay to hold both their hands at once.

"You have been very loyal Felix, so I will choose to ignore this outlandish form of insubordination. Regardless, you don't have the same qualities they someone like Bella possesses, and therefore we would not benefit from you taking her place." He finished his speech with a smug expression on his ancient face. A few of the guard had came into the room by know wondering about the altercation. I started to panic. I couldn't stay here. My love life was still up for grabs, but there was one thing I was certain beyond a shadow of a doubt; I had to be with my family. I wouldn't survive if they left me again, and I'm not sure I would even want to.

"I can take her place." I small voice whispered from behind me. Craning my head, I saw Elle attempting to push past Edward so she could be in front of Aro.

"ELLE NO" I screamed, reaching out to pull her back. "Don't do this. Not for me."

"You are in the same boat as Felix, Noel. You have nothing to offer us that would hold a candle to Isabella." Aro smirked.

Elle let out a huff, crossed her arms and focused on the members of the guard that entered the room moments earlier. Suddenly, Demetri flew at Alec, tackling him to the ground. He landed a good solid punch square on his face before he stopped abruptly, turned around, and ran smack dab into the wall of the study, sending crackling sounds throughout the area as the walls fracture from impact. The room was dead silent before all eyes shifted back toward the tiny vampire with a condescending smirk upon her face.

Demetri started to charge at her, but Edward stepped out and put himself in his path, crouching in a defensive position.

"STOP" shouted Aro, while catching Elle gaze and standing wide eyed. "Noel, what did you just do?"

"Oh, well you know… A little of this, a little of that. No biggie." What a smug little vampire genius.

"How did I not know about his Noel? Can you make him do whatever you want?" Aro spat.

"Of course I can. He is very easy to control." She waved her hand in Demetri's direction, before blowing him a kiss. "You never paid me much attention really. I was always just the poor abandoned newborn you took pity on. You really ought to be more observant Aro." She giggled. "Now all of these witnesses heard you proclaim I was free to leave, but I will gladly stay in Bella's place, as long as everyone else can leave. I could be very useful to you. Think about it."

"Elle please don't do this." I whispered almost sobbing.

"Very well. Isabella you may leave with the Cullen's. We are done here." Aro snapped his fingers and the guard ascended on Elle, grabbing both her arms and pulling her from the room.

"No wait. ELLE!" I ran to grab her hand but was held back by Felix's massive arms. And just like that my best friend was gone.


	15. Harebrained Pixie

A/N This chapter hasn't been Beta'd, but you guys are use to that. I went back and updated the previous chapters with the edited and revised version. I should point out that chapter 11 is now equipped with EPOV that you mind find interesting to go back and read.

**Chapter 15: Harebrained Pixie**

**EPOV**

"SHE DOESN'T OWE YOU ANYTHING!" I growled loudly at Aro, through gritted teeth. I would rather die than see Bella forced to stay here in the clutches of the Volturi. It was taking every ounce of my self-restraint to not lunge forward, wipe that grin off Aro's face and then rip his throat out. Outside of these walls, he was viewed as the keeper of peace and justice. Those who did not know him personally, trusted and respected his authority from afar. However, the do-gooder persona he portrayed was nothing more than a cover-up to his true nature. Aro had long ago fallen to the temptation of absolute supremacy. Power, being intoxicating and seductive, left Aro obsessed with its acquisition. His fascination grew with ever trophy he added to his shelf, as did his threat. Bella would become part of his sick collection over my dead body.

_Cullen, you are not helping. Do us all a favor and control yourself!_ The thoughts came from my left, pulling me from my rage. Felix placed his hand on my shoulder and shot me a look, pleading for me to remain quiet, as he began to speak. "Aro, I am aware that you gave me permission to change her, but you are also aware that I made the decision to do so long before you had your input. I am Bella's maker. Not you. If she owes anyone her loyalty, it is me." Ugh, again with the debt! My chest gave way to a low growl, resulting in Felix tightening his grip on my shoulder. He then finished his speech, offering to take Bella's place in exchange for her freedom. I was stunned. _I love her too. I know she wouldn't be happy here. I just want her to be happy. _His thoughts struck a resounding cord within my mind. Their implication rang out, lingering as I processed their meaning. Never turning my head, I nodded once in understanding.

As expected, Aro went on to refuse Felix's offer on the grounds that he possessed nothing of value to him. This surprised me little. My focus shifted down to the beautiful creature beside me. I could see the wheels turning in her eyes as she fought over some internal conflict. For the thousandth time since she had taken over my existence, I wished desperately that I could decipher the inner workings of that brilliant mind.

_Guess that's my cue! Snap out of it Edward. I wouldn't want you to miss the show. _Elle had such an interesting mind. Her thoughts, though intelligent, were sporadic and light. The way she viewed life with such determination and zest, mimicked that of Alice. Her thoughts, however, reminded me of the carefree spirit that Bella's mother possessed. Being a perfect cross of both Renee and Alice, it was easy to discern why Bella loved her so much. In my absence, Elle brought her more comfort that she undoubtedly ever realized.

_How dare that old bastard right me off like that! Alright Edward…pay attention…let me demonstrate what I'm really capable of. Trust me when I say that little punch in the face was really just a love tap. _Out of nowhere, Demetri flew at Alec and punched him in the face with enough force to shatter a boulder. He then jumped back to his feet, running at vampire speed directly into the stone wall of Aro's study. The wall shook, sending a loud crack throughout the room as a large fracture appeared. I guess she wasn't kidding about the love tap after all. I send a smile in the direction of the smug looking vampire, thoroughly impressed with her gumption. _See, I was really playing nice before._ _You should th-…oh dear. _ I instinctively reacted to the distress in her thoughts. Hearing realization dawn in Demetri's mind, I stepped forward to block his path to Elle, growling out a warning from my defensive crouch. Bella loved Elle. Her mere presence brought Bella joy, and that was something worth protecting.

"STOP" shouted Aro, while catching Elle's gaze and standing wide eyed. "Noel, what did you just do?" _Well isn't it obvious dumbass? And he wonders why he is just now finding out about this._

"Oh, well you know… A little of this, a little of that. No biggie." She is brilliant. Bella is right; the Cullen women would love her. Though it boggles my mind to think of the damage she and Alice could inflict on the family bank account. Not to mention the intricate pranks she could conjure up with Emmett.

"How did I not know about his Noel? Can you make him do whatever you want?" Aro spat.

"Of course I can. He is very easy to control." She waved her hand in Demetri's direction, before blowing him a kiss. "You never paid me much attention really. I was always just the poor abandoned newborn you took pity on. You really ought to be more observant Aro." She giggled. "Now all of these witnesses heard you proclaim I was free to leave, but I will gladly stay in Bella's place, as long as everyone else can leave. I could be very useful to you. Think about it."

_He'll take my offer Edward. He is blinded by the potential of my ability, but too arrogant to realize he is just as susceptible to it as everyone else. You get Bella out of Italy as fast as possible. I will stay behind until I'm sure she is safely away. I'll meet you all in Forks as soon as I can._

"Very well. Isabella you may leave with the Cullen's. We are done here." Aro snapped his fingers and the guard ascended on Elle, grabbing both her arms and pulling her from the room.

_One last thing Edward…if you make her cry even one tear while I'm gone, I swear I'll make her hate you. That's a promise. No more pain Edward. Find the means to bring her joy, or get out of the way of the one who can…I'll miss you though. This silent conversation is fun!_

And with that Elle was dragged out of the room, to the sounds of Bella's sobs.

****************************

We vacated Aro's study as quickly as was possible. Bella's cries seemed to grow louder the farther we descended from the direction Elle had disappeared in. Wrapped in Felix's arms, her tiny body shock with every tortured sob that passed through her lips. The yearning to tell her what I knew was immense. For once I could be the relief of her pain instead of the cause. It took all of my strength, but I bite my tongue and withheld the information that needed to be kept quiet for now. Her sobs were crushing me. The desire to see her happy again was so consuming that even the knowledge that Felix was the one comforting her instead of me, never even crossed my mind. I just needed that sobbing to stop.

"Bella, is there anything in your room you need to go get? Take whatever you wish, but we must hurry." Carlisle calmly spoke.

"I can think of only two things that I care about. Everything else is replaceable."

"Alright then, Felix you should go gather your things as well. Bella, can Edward take you to your room?" She looked into Carlisle's face only briefly before nodding, wrapping her arms around her chest, and then turning to leave for her room. Felix shrugged a little in my direction, unsure how to respond to her demeanor. I sighed before taking off after her. She was walking briskly, though not at full speed. As I approached she dropped her arms down to her side, giving me an opening to take her hand. Like so many times before, the connection sent a shock wave up my arm, instantly soothing the dull ache her departure had created long ago. I squeezed her hand, hoping to send her comfort. She never looked in my direction, but laced her fingers into their rightful place. Our pace remained steady, bringing us to her quarters far too soon, and instigating her release of my hand. The ache returned.

Her room was in disarray from our antics. Wood from the shattered bookcase lay everywhere; her books polluted the floor, discarded shells of her chosen ammunition. Bella stopped to take in the destruction, casting glances around the room in search of something. Quickly she walked forward, bent down to pick up a faded olive green book, and brought it to her chest in a show of esteem.

"What book is that love?" I asked, very curious.

"Wuthering Heights" I almost let a laugh slip. I guess some things never change. "Felix gave it to me. Or maybe I should say Marcus let Felix give it to me. It belonged to Marcus's wife. As you can imagine, it's a first edition." She opened the cover and started to examine it, most likely to determine if it sustained any damage.

"That would indeed be something to hold dear. Carlisle said that Didyme was a lovely woman. I'm sure she would have approved of Marcus giving it to someone who would truly appreciate it." I smiled to hide the thoughts that were going through my mind. Her head fell a little to the side, before she shook it some. My Bella was not fooled.

Felix was good; beyond good really. That gift was brilliant. I have never seen her hold anything with as much admiration as that book. The story had always detested me, but Bella read it faithfully over and over. You could find her old copy opened anywhere back at Charlie's, just waiting for her to read a passage she most certainly had memorized by heart. Determining it was her favorite, was easy. Of course, I now had to reexamine my competition. Felix reminded me a lot of Emmett with his massive appearance. Can you blame a guy for hoping that he would possess the same carefree and materialistic approach to life? Clearly that was not the case. If I had hoped once that Bella would grow tired of his lack of understanding for the intelligent things she held close to her heart, then I certainly did not now. Arrogantly, I assumed I was the only one that really knew the inner workings of my Bella. He could not possible know her the way I knew her! What a palm-to-face moment. Thinking I knew Bella better than everyone, including herself, was what got me into this mess in the first place.

My internal monulage distracted me from seeing that Bella had moved over to retrieve something from the little chest of drawers next to her sofa. It was a small brown box, but apart from that, it left no clue to its significance.

"All set. Let's go down and meet the others." Bella was already turning to leave the room when my curiosity overcame my good sense.

"Are you going to tell me what's in the box?" I asked innocently.

"No" was all she said back. Was it not enough that she held an entire mind full of thoughts that I couldn't reach? Now I had to worry what lay inside that damn brown box. I simply nodded my head. She deserved her secrets.

**BPOV **

The hallway was dark and deserted as we made our way hand in hand to the rendezvous point. The shame of leaving Elle behind washed over me as I saw only male companions looking up at me. She was my best friend now, and I was leaving her. The irony of the situation did not escape my notice. I once hated Alice for discarding our friendship in favor of her brother's wishes, and now I was leaving Elle behind for my own benefit. Abruptly my feet planted themselves in place. This wasn't me. I don't abandon those I care about.

"I can't just leave her behind. I love her. We don't know what they'll make her do." I spoke pleading with them through my eyes. "We are all she has Felix. Would you have me leave her?"

I expected him to rush to me for support, but instead he stayed where he was, looking over at Edward. Edward nodded and then pulled me into his body. He held me tightly, caressing my back, and burying his hand into my hair. I could feel his sweet breath exhale behind my ear, and then inhale my scent. I wondered briefly if he was taking advantage of my breakdown, only to be proved wrong. His soulful voice spoke very softly into my ear. "Noel is strong. Do not doubt her, love. You are not leaving her behind." Looking up from his chest, I saw the conviction in his eyes. My head nodded reluctantly, as I bite my lip to ease my nerves.

Edward released me to help Felix with his bags. Watching them both walk away from me was… painful. Irrational, yes. But still, painful.

"Let's get you out of here sis. I can't wait to get you back home to Esme." Grabbing my hand we followed the others out to the lobby. The moaning ahead of us made me sick to my stomach. I released Emmett's hand, running forward to find Edward on the floor next to the elevator in pain. Felix was on his knees, eyes closed, head back, looking checked out from reality. I noticed Alec in the shadows, arms crossed, staring directly at Felix. Jane let out a cackle in my direction as she focused her attention on Edward.

"It's time to make a decision, Bella! Who're going to protect?"

The rage sent my shield out in both directions. I noticed Edward stop moaning as I approached Jane. Before she knew what was happening, I seized her by the throat lifting her off the ground. "I told you before, bitch. I don't need to choose. I can protect them all!" I was prepared to rip her throat out. I wanted to rip her throat out. My chest was heaving rapidly, the newborn emotions taking hold of my wits.

"Don't Bella. We need to leave. This will only cause problems. Let her go." Carlisle placed a comforting hand on my extended arm, pulling me back from the red rift. The evil hag in my hands laughed, as I released aversely. She landed with the grace of a prima ballerina, and stepped back away from us. She continued to chuckle with an evil smirk on her face.

"You better hope we never meet outside this castle. You have threatened those I love one too many times. One day, you will pay." Spinning around to both Edward and Felix's wide eyed faces, I walked into the elevator and never looked back.

**APOV**

The family made their way out to the boundary line to meet up with the wolves promptly at 1am. Jasper was very wary of doing so without Carlisle present. My soldier was always thinking and strategizing. His concern was duly noted, but he didn't see the grateful faces of those men at the funeral. They needed us here. Our presence was necessary to fight a common adversary, and I knew they would do nothing to jeopardize that relationship.

Rosalie growled behind me as the stench from our guest grew stronger as we approached. Esme grabbed her arm to calm her, but her face showed the same discomfort. Stepping out in front of us, Jasper made his way over to the leader. The pack was growing. Instead of the five wolves we were aware of, there were now seven. Only Jacob Black and the leader were still in human form. The others took their places in a strategic arc behind the two, crouching defensively in their animal form. Loud snarling erupted from the group as Jasper stopped six feet in front of their leaders.

"Enough!" Sam shouted. His command was followed instantly, leaving a few resounding whimpers in the distance. "Again, we're glad you are here. We have not caught a trail of any new visitors since we called you. Through experience, we know that means nothing. We kill them, more come. They might take breaks in between, but more always come. We run patrols constantly to track new trails, and it would be nice if you could help out with that. I'm under the assumption that vampires don't sleep, and it would be a great relief for us, since… we do need the rest."

"That's fine." Jasper said. "Are you guarding Charlie?"

"Yeah, we always have someone watching him. Whenever possible, my dad gets him down at the rez to go fishing. He's easier to keep track of him that way. But the old man's stubborn. He keeps leaving, saying he doesn't want to wear out his welcome. Guess I know where Bella got that from." Jacob paused, realizing he brought her name up. Sam flinched next to him, and then sighed.

"When are the others suppose to be here?" Sam mumbled.

With the mention of the rest of the family, a new vision broke through, crystal clear. Bella was coming home after all.

"They are leaving Italy right now." I said. "I have something to say, and you are not going to like it. We are outnumbered here, so I need you to promise you aren't going to attack my family. If not, we will wait to tell you when everyone else arrives. But do know that it is better for you to know now. I think you might need some time to get used to the information."

Jacob turned to Sam with a puzzled look on his face. He leaned in to whisper, forgetting our sensitive hearing. _"They wouldn't be here if they didn't want to help." "I know Jake, but I don't like the sound of this. Something is wrong." "I'm not saying I trust them Sam, but we need to be informed. We can't work with them if they are keeping a secret. This clearly pertains to the mission." "Fine, I'll give the order not to attack, but you better damn well control yourself too." "Sure, Sure."_

Turning his back to us, Sam stepped out toward the five wolves. Raising his voice, he gave the order. "Until you are told otherwise, no one is to attack the Cullen's under any circumstance. That is an order."

"Jasper, can you calm them all?" I whispered only low enough for him to hear.

"I can only try Alice. There are a lot of them, and it's harder when we aren't in an enclosed area. Just ease them into it okay." I nodded at him before stepping back out front to speak.

"We found Bella." They all froze. Jacob's mouth dropped, as he clinched his fist together tightly at his side. Sam's head dropped, expecting the worse to come of my revelation. "They found her in Italy. She is alive, but we were too late to save her."

"SHE'S A VAMPIRE!" screamed Jacob. Trembles violently took over his body, sending Sam into a panic.

"Jacob calm down! You will not phase right now! Control yourself!" he scolded him. Jacob began pacing around in circles, attempting to gain dominance over his instinct to attack. The remaining wolves were growling out warnings from behind, wary of why their leaders were so upset.

"DID HE CHANGE HER?" Though Jacob seemed to have his body under control now, his anger was just as volatile as before. The aggressive stance he was taking toward me, was not pleasing Jasper one bit.

"Step back Jacob. Now." Jasper spoke with absolute finality.

"It's okay Jasper, he won't hurt me." My husband relaxed his stance, and nodded his head at me. "No Cullen changed her. They found her already a vampire. Believe me when I tell you this is not what we wanted for her. We left to keep her out of our world, and safe. Edward would have never have turned her."

"Who did it Alice?" Sam almost whispered. His body language screamed shame, the guilt rolling off his shoulders in droves. Their concern was intoxicating and endearing. Bella had felt so alone in our absence. If only she would have known the support system that was waiting for her just up the road.

"I'm not really sure who Sam, but it was the Volturi that took her. She was changed by them."

"The royal family?" I nodded at Sam. "The elders mentioned them only briefly. We don't have much information on them, except the knowledge that they exist. Why would they come and take Bella?"

"They came to visit us. Our scent led them to Charlie's house. They saw some potential in her, and took her. I know this is hard to accept, but we are thankful that we still have her in the way we do. But please know, we thought leaving was the way to prevent this. I did not see this happening. If I could take it all back I would. We all would. Leaving her was the biggest mistake of my life. She is my best friend, and I love her so much. I should have stayed to protect her." Jasper came forward to wrap his arms around my sobbing body, sending calming emotions in my direction. Silence fell throughout the party, the hefty revelation lingering among us, a dark cloud overhead.

"Where is she?" Jacob asked, breaking the silence.

"They are bringing her here. Her eyes will not look like ours. She is too young for them to be anything but red. I'm not sure how she managed it, but Carlisle told me she has never killed a human. She has chosen our way of life, and we consider her part of our family. We will inform her of the treaty, and she will obey it. We expect you to abide by it as well."

"Sure. Sure"

"We know this is a lot to take in. Let's set up patrols for now, and we can meet again when the rest of the family makes it into town." They all nodded as Jasper commenced his role as master strategist.

A/N Sorry for the delay. I get caught up in reading and forget to write. I also want to point out that I never had any intentions of leaving Elle behind. Trust people. Trust.


	16. Family Reunions

**Chapter 16: Family Reunions**

**BPOV**

I could have killed her. God, I wanted to kill her. Curse my father for being so damn logical. Her self-righteous face was plastered to the back of my eyelids, forbidding me to forget the fury that was raging through me. The crack rang throughout the elevator as my grip on the steel hand rails caused them to break away from the walls they were bolted to. My chest was heaving with unnecessary deep breaths; my attempt to regain control over my body.

_It would only be a simple detour to go back…Snapping her neck would take milliseconds…She probably hasn't had real combat training…Bitch thought she was untouchable…Guess she wasn't expecting me to spoil her delusion on superiority…Ha ha ha…yes I needed to kill her…her head would lie on the ground at my feet…and we'll see who will be laughing then…DAMN IT!_

"Umm, Felix? I can't get on a plane like this. Seriously, I'm having grand illusions of killing Jane over here. I need to feed. NOW." My eyes never opened with my request. The attempt to calm myself continued as I desperately squelched the hallucinations of Jane's death. A hiss expelled from my lips as the hand came to rest upon my arm, jolting me with its electric caress. When it remained, I growled again in warning, never opening my eyes.

"You need to stop touching her Cullen." Felix spoke matter-of-factly.

"Excuse me? Who do you think you are?" Edward's hand squeezed my arm with more force, as he spat out his warning.

"She doesn't like to be touched when she's thirsty. You'll make her control waver. She has to focus."

"Maybe she just doesn't like you to touch her? Did you ever consider that?" I tighten my eyelids. Speaking again would make me lose it. _He needed to let go of me…He is not a threat…He needed to let go of me…I am in control…damn it let go!_

"Cullen, would you just listen!" Felix's last attempt was futile. The last ounce of my control slipped, breaking my hold on reality, and sending me into a fury. My right hand crossed my body and grabbed the arm that held me. Jerking it forward, I grabbed its connected shoulder, shoving the party to the floor of the elevator as I dug my knee into their back. Leaning forward, my teeth barely broke the hard skin at the neck before I was thrown backwards and off my victim.

DING…the elevator door sprung open…Felix laughed…I growled at the arms encompassing me…The man on the floor groaned.

"Bella?" I heard him breathe out in astonishment. His posture recovered quickly from the shock as he scurried away from me on the floor, looking up at me with disbelief.

"I hope that stings you idiot!" Felix shouted in Edward's direction before turning to me. "I'll go get blood right now Bella. You need to let Emmett keep you here. I'll me back in a few minutes okay?" I nodded my head at him as best as I could. "Don't let her out of the elevator! Use force if necessary." He took off through the lobby before any of them could respond. The faces around me showed fear, stifling the entire area of the tiny steel cage.

"Bella?" whispered Edward again as he held his neck, attempting to numb the sting of my venom. I took a minute before I spoke to laugh at how he denied me his venom, and yet mine was now seeping into his flesh.

_"You can't just touch me…no one gets to touch me if I don't want them too…he told you not to touch me…I didn't want to me touched…WHY DON'T YOU EVER LISTEN TO ANYONE?" _My throat stung, emitting pain throughout my body, clouding my mind, and fueling my lunacy. _"Still so arrogant…so damn conceited…he told you not to touch me…I won't put up with that crap anymore…no one gets to touch me if I don't want them too…I make my own choices…I get decide what I want…I just didn't want to be touched!"_

Emmett held tight to my body, keeping my arms contained at my sides by force. I let my head fall back against his chest, slamming it into the stone repeatedly. His arms tightened as I tried to release my body from his steel cage. His groan sent an alert to Carlisle, who then reached over to help restrain me; locking eyes, while imploring me to calm myself. I growled out in frustration.

DING

"Here, piccolo Tesoro. Drink." Sweet ecstasy slid down the back of my throat the moment I sank my teeth into the bag of blood. Its contents drained quickly, replaced in haste with yet another bag. The fog over my senses started to wane, giving back my control. The third bag was overkill, but I still consumed every drop. I licked my lips, savoring the last bit of my meal, before exhaling out loud and opening my eyes.

Felix stood before me when a huge grin on his face, pulling me into his body. His hand stroked my hair with great affection as I clung to him. Leaning down to whisper in my ear, he spoke, "It's okay Gaoia, your fine now. I've got you."

Looking up through my eyelashes, I poured my gratitude out to him. He chuckled softly, cupping my face with his massive hand, caressing my cheek with his thumb. My consequential smile was rewarded with a gentle kiss to the forehead.

"You are one feisty newborn Bells. I would be laughing, if you didn't seriously just scare the crap out of me!" Felix released me at Emmett's words. I gave Emmett a tiny smile, cringing when I realized what just happened.

"Edward, are you okay. D-Did I hurt you?"

"I've never been bitten by another vampire. I'll admit…it stung a little bit." His voice lingered with bewilderment.

"Of course you've never been bitten. You're a virgin dude!" Emmett burst out in laughter, amused by his own joke. Edward narrowed his eyes at his brother, still rubbing the bite mark on his neck. The question in his eyes still plagued me and I gave in to his intrigue.

"You know you can't think straight when your that hungry. I don't have the years of restraint that you do. I was losing my grip, and I felt threatened. I told you before Edward, I'm done with saviors. Regardless how innocent the touch, no one will ever lay a hand on me again without my consent. I will take care of me." My eyes left his hurt gaze, glancing around to the other men in the elevator. Remorse played on all their faces. Carlisle and Emmett for the implications my words could hold, and Felix for the knowledge that he was by far the soul reason for them. My forgiveness was long ago bestowed upon him, but the memories of being removed, manhandled and kidnapped were still prevalent. I was weak then. Now I am strong. Now I have control, and I fully plan to embrace the strengths fate has seen fit to hand me.

"Now, we need to get to Charlie. How are we supposed to get across the ocean Carlisle? I can't exactly get on a plane like this." A smirk appeared upon his face.

"That's not entirely true Bella. We can take a plane, just not the kind you're thinking of. We'll take Emmett's jet." He beamed with a mixture of pride and amusement as he exited the elevator, leading the way out to the waiting limousine. I took my seat next to Felix, waiting for someone to elaborate on this new found information.

"Oh come on Bells. Don't look so shocked. You didn't think I was incapable of having a hobby did you? Edward has his music, Alice has her shopping, Rose has the cars…you get the picture right? Eternity is a long time to fill with just video games." I couldn't help but laugh, because he was right. I never even considered what his real hobby was. An apologetic smile was sent in his direction, as I shook my head in thought. Emmett could fly airplanes? That was just crazy.

******************************************

Our take off from the secluded air strip that Carlisle no doubt paid an obscene amount of money to have the Cullen jet delivered to, was smooth and quick. I smiled in spite of myself at the new layer that had been peeled away from the façade of my fun loving big brother. Seeing him jump into the cockpit with such poise and confidence caused my heart to swell even bigger for him with equal parts love and admiration.

"Take a seat Bella, and let brother bear handle everything." His head jerked to the back of the plane, signaling me to head out of his work space. I took the time to squeeze his shoulder with my hand before walking out. Edward and Carlisle sat on one side of the cabin, speaking of strategic plans for Charlie's safety. My presence went unacknowledged as I took a seat next to Felix.

"That mind reading thing is quite annoying." Felix whispered in my ear, after he slung his arm behind me on the seat. "How do the rest of them stand to be around him all the time?"

"He can hear you right now you know?" It was oddly quiet in the plane, indicating the conversation had ceased across the aisle. Edward was attempting to remain expressionless to our banter, but the right side of his mouth betrayed him slightly as it tugged up in a miniscule movement. Felix let out a huff in annoyance. "Don't worry though; I can protect your thoughts. At least for now." Felix raised an eyebrow as I sent my shield out to encompass him. He returned my efforts with a big huge.

Musical laughter broke forth once Felix's mind became silent. Edward reflected a look of amusement and…pride? He shook his head back and forth before his laughter ended suddenly, an epiphany dawning on him. My filter failed me, letting my intrigue win out as I spat a "What?"

"I just realized that you are my perfect foil. While I was given the ability to penetrate minds, you are able to keep me out of them. For almost a century my power went unchecked, letting my reliance on it, and my arrogance because of it, swell. And here you are to balance it out, and rein me in." He stopped to penetrate me with his eyes, sending me waves of love. "We were made for each other."

Shocked by his bravado, my jaw dropped. He did not just say that in front of everyone…no wait, he did. Carlisle cleared his throat, and I felt Felix shift next to me at the awkward tension that now hung in the air. I suppose his overconfidence should insult me. I should be screaming that he's an egotistical bastard. That's what you do when you're broken; when you've been hurt. But this alternate Edward confused me into silence. I had grown accustomed to the self loathing vampire who insisted that he was no good for me. I knew the man who kept me at arm's length to protect me from him, as well as myself. I came to terms with the monster that callously abandoned me as he determined it was best to remove himself from my life. But this man…this man who knew what he wanted and planned on fighting for it…this man I hadn't met before. And yes, I knew I was still suppose to be punishing him for the pain he inflicted, but I'll be damned if I did not find this Edward…sexy?

"krrrrrrk….This is your Captain speaking. We will be making our descent now. Please fasten your seat belts and refrain from joining the mile high club while we land….ha ha ha….just kidding Bells….over…krrrrrk"

********************************

"BELLAAAAAAAAAAAA!" I was smashed into by a tiny, raven haired pixie as soon as my feet touched the ground outside the plane. Her legs wrapped tightly around my waist as her arms fiercely circled my neck. "I can't believe you're here. Oh my god, oh my god. I missed you so much!" Releasing me as quickly as she had appeared, her body stood back from mine, taking in my appearance. "Bella, you are so beautiful. Isn't she beautiful Edward?"

"I think beautiful is an understatement Alice." Edward answered her immediately. Embarrassment made me drop my head and look at my feet. These types of sentiments still made me uncomfortable. Felix and Elle had told me numerous times how stunning I had become with immortality, but shy, human Bella normally choose to rear her head and scoff at the notion.

Felix cleared his throat behind me before gingerly reaching forward to take my hand. Alice narrowed her eyes for a moment but quickly reverting back to her polite and loving self.

"Hello, I'm Alice and that's my husband Jasper. Thank you for coming to help." She motioned behind her, alerting me for the first time to the blond man leaning back against a familiar Volvo. His face was cloaked in pain. When our eyes locked, I felt a wave of undeniable shame wash over me. Everyone else in that moment ceased to exit. My feet rapidly carried me in his direction with determination. Jasper's arms uncrossed from his chest, using his hands to brace himself on the car behind him. His chest expanded with the deep breath he drew in, while pulling his head further back as I approached. I stopped only briefly in front of him before flinging my arms around his neck and hugging him tightly.

"You don't have to stay away from me anymore brother." The breath he was holding in expelled from his mouth forcefully. Dropping his head into my neck, he finally wrapped his arms around my body, pulling me up off my feet. He held me like this for a few minutes as we played an emotional tug of war. My attempts to send every ounce of love and forgiveness in his direction, where matched equally with his shame and guilt. As soon as my feet touched back on the ground, I pulled away from his body and grabbed his face with both hands. "You were forgiven instantly. I never blamed you. Never."

"I was normally so careful, always staying in the background. But it was your birthday. I just wanted to be closer to my little sister." He attempted to drop his head with his words, but I was stronger than him. I firmly held his face up to look into my eyes.

"Jasper, I never blamed you. But if you need to hear it, I will say it a thousand times. I forgive you…I forgive you brother." He slowly nodded in acceptance, sending waves of love out to me. My right hand gently patted his check before I turned back to the rest of my family. The other Cullen men stared back at me with appreciation. Felix looked confused, not being privy to the details of my last birthday. It was Alice who left me a little flabbergasted. Naturally she was giddy, but her eyes were wide with infinite thankfulness. She came forth to wrap her arms around me, whispering several heartfelt "thank you". My heart broke with realization that Jasper had been drowning in as much guilt as I was in pain. I shot Edward an annoyed look, before sliding into Carlisle's Mercedes behind Felix. Taking a hint, Edward moved quickly to the Volvo. This was going to be a long day of reunions.

************************************

Esme reacted about the same as Alice once we made our way to the huge white house tucked away in the trees. My ears would be ringing with the squeals the two of them released, if that was vampiricly possible. Amid the screams, I was rushed to my newly decorated room, complete with brand new, Cullen purchased, Alice approved, wardrobe. The two women were describing in intricate detail their happenings since I last seen them, when Carlisle called us back to the living room. I took a seat ironically in between Edward and Felix on the sofa. The astonishing beauty that was Rosalie shifted nervously in front of me on the love seat. She looked up at me full of appologies, but I just couldn't bring myself to smile at her.

"Bella, do you remember your father's friend Billy Black?" Carlisle asked.

I took a minute to think minute before shaking my head and speaking. "Of course. I used to play with his son Jacob when I came to visit during the summers. Why do you ask?"

"Well there are some things that you have to be made aware of now that you are a part of our family. For starters, your friend Jacob is a werewolf."

"A what? Are you serious? He's just a boy, he can't be a werewolf!" I spat incredulously.

"Trust me when I say, he is far from being just a boy Bella. In fact, that guy is huge! They all are really." Jasper laughed as he spoke. Alice took his hand into hers, and nodded her head in agreement.

"I was under the impression that Caius had all but eradicated the werewolves Carlisle. How is it possible there is a whole pack that the Volturi are not aware of?" Felix shifted forward to rest his elbows on his knees, scooting toward the edge of the couch, eager to understand.

"I have my suspicions that they are not entirely like the children of the moon Caius once hunted. You will be more qualified to make that assessment once you meet them Felix."

"Meet them? Why on earth would we meet them? Carlisle, I'm sure you understand that werewolves are dangerous." Felix raised his voice a little, growing impatient with the situation he was uncomfortable with.

"I understand your concern, Felix. We made a treaty with the tribe decades ago. We stay off their land, and stick to our diet and they keep away. You're going to have to trust us on this."

"Bella" Alice interrupted. "I've met with them twice now, and I think there are some details you should be informed about. The wolves blame themselves for not protecting you. We only informed them a couple of days ago that you were still alive. It was really hard for them to swallow that you were turned. They had just come from your funeral, finally accepting that you were gone. I thought your friend Jacob was going to lose it."

"My funeral…oh god…Charlie." I moaned in agony. She reached over and placed her tiny hand on my knee.

"I held him the entire time Bella. I tried my best to comfort him." My head responded in understanding at her words. My imagination conjured up a painful scene of my father sobbing into the shoulder of my tiny sister. The thought of the brave and valiant man, who I could count of two fingers the number of times I had seen cry, sobbing and grieving for the last family member he had left, was just crushing. Placing both my hands flat on the couch beside me, I closed my eyes hard to stop the imagery. Felix started rubbing circles on my back in a soothing gesture. The electricity started sparking to my left before I felt Edward hock his pinky over mine. I relished in the comfort I felt at both their connections before abruptly standing up. That…That I can't deal with right this second.

Alice took the opportunity to finish her speech. "I explained to them that you are part of our family and there by protected under the treaty. Though, I don't know how they're going to react to you Felix." She cocked her head to the side as she took in Felix's face.

"You don't KNOW Alice?" I questioned.

"Well, I can't see anything when the wolves are involved. They block out my visions completely. There are more of them now than in the beginning. I use to see snippets of the tribe when one wasn't in the room, but now they are everywhere on the reservation, and I'm completely blind there. I can't see your father, because they're protecting him. I can't see the battle, because they're a part of it. I just can't see anything." She whined.

"Okay, that is a bit annoying." I said exasperated.

My words were almost immediately followed by a unanimous, "Exactly!"

With Carlisle leaving the room to place a call over to the pack, I excused myself to go take a shower. Grabbing the backpack I had brought from Italy to carry the only two things I bothered to remove from my room, I climbed the stairs fully aware of the two set of eyes that bore into my back. The click my door made when it closed behind me signaled me to relax and release the breath I didn't know I was holding. I made my way over to the bed I didn't need, that was of course draped in royal blue. Shaking my head, I chose to ignore the meaning in that little detail.

Sitting down, I unzipped the bag to pull out its contents. I laid the faded olive green book to the side reverently, before reaching in and withdrawing the brown box. Removing the lid tentatively, I smiled at the contents. Tied together with a red ribbon, were the fifteen blue envelopes that held the memories of our love. Bringing the bundle to my face, I inhaled the familiar scent, sighed, and then place it to the side. The entity that I sought lay at the bottom of the box, waiting again for me to analyze it. The note was folded in half on thick red cardstock. The words written in onyx, scrawled out with meticulous hand writing. Its delivery after my initial reunion with the Cullen's had come as a surprise. From there, it laid tucked away, assisting in my confusion and guilt.

Isabella,

I hope you have received the book I sent with Felix. I'm glad something my wife once held so dear, can be possessed now by someone who will appreciate and cherish it. Didyme was an extraordinary woman, and I loved her. The aura of our bond was brighter than any I had ever come across in the centuries that I have walked this earth. I was certain I would never witness one of that magnitude ever again.

You are bound Isabella. Your bond radiated the most vivid blue I have ever seen. Do not forgo your happiness. I beg of you to embrace what you know is there. Do not confuse friendship for love.

Marcus

A/N

Piccolo Tesoro- little teasure

Gaoia- My joy


	17. Vindicated?

**Chapter 17: Vindicated?**

"_I am flawed…but I am cleaning up so well…I am seeing _

_in me now the things you swore you saw yourself"_

**BPOV**

I heard the distinct footsteps approaching my room, long before the knock tapped at the door. Knowing he was always welcome, Felix stepped in without me calling out an answer. His demeanor sang out the familiar emotions he always emitted in my presence; worry, love, and acceptance. As my maker, he was tasked with also being my watcher. My education on the ways of our kind, my emotional stability, and my actions were all his responsibility. He took his role in protecting me from punishment very seriously. Though this was his obligation, he had never showed me any resentment. His acceptance of me was never ending. The love had always been there, spilling forth at the seams of our friendship. From the moment I opened my eyes as an immortal that love flickered and sparked upon his face. It was easy to write off as friendship, or even pity, at first. But now, with his declaration in the forest, that love couldn't be refuted away into innocence.

I clenched the red note in both hands out in front of me as I rested on the side of my new bed. My eyes never left the words as the crinkle sound of the leather came forth from my sofa being sat upon.

"That's the letter from Marcus right?" He asked.

I allowed my eyes to slowly rise to his before answering. "Yes."

Letting out a shallow sigh, he leaned forward to place his elbows on his knees in a trademark move. He laced his fingers together in front of him, giving me a minute to realize where this conversation was going to go. "Are you ready to tell me what it says Bella?"

"Felix…please…we've been over this before. I can't. Just let it go, okay?" He shook his head before leaning back against the sofa. In another trademark move, he commenced with allowing me to get lost in my thoughts.

_My tiny body was wrapped into an exuberant hug immediately upon opening the door to my quarters. _

_"Bella, where were you? I came back from the feast and you were gone. I was worried about you." Felix continued to hug me tightly, stroking my hair. "Are the Cullen's harassing you? I can get them barred from the castle if you like? Just say the word Bella and you'll never have to see him again."_

_"Felix no, really, that's not necessary. I wasn't with the Cullen's." His head cocked a little to the side as his eyes narrowed in confusion._

_"Okay." He said cautiously. "You know you are free to do whatever you want. It's just that with the Cullen's showing up, you haven't really shown any desire to venture out anywhere. I would have gone with you wherever you desired."_

_"I didn't leave without you. That's not something I would do." I hurried to assure him, and his face relaxed. "I requested an audience with Marcus. That's where I was just now…meeting with him."_

_"But why would you want to speak to Marcus? I wasn't aware that you had even been introduced to him. Your only interaction with the brother's was through Aro?"_

_"Well technically your right. Umm, he sent me a note…after you gave me his wife's book. I just wanted to speak to him about-about what he wrote." My teeth bit down on my lower lip to keep me from saying anything more. He picked up on it right away._

_"You are being vague Bella. Right there…see you're biting you lip. That means you are nervous." He shook his finger at me, while taking a step forward to place a hand on my shoulder. "You don't have to keep me in the dark. If Marcus is trying to use you in some way, I need to know."_

_"He isn't trying to use me. Felix, it's nothing like that. Seriously, I just wanted to talk. Please just let it go." I reached out to take him into an embrace. My face buried into his chest, as I took deep breaths of his sweet scent. Begging him to drop it, my arms tighten._

_"Alright, I trust you. If you say you are fine, then I believe you. You only have to ask, and I'll be there."_

Packing the contents back into the brown box, I put it, as well as my book, inside the drawer next to my bed. The soft down comforter gave way around my body, creating a Bella shaped crevice that hugged me. My long curls splayed out above my head on the crisp white pillows, as I lay my hands atop my chest. Closing my eyes, I listened to the bustle of my family moving though out the house. Their voices were comforting, their movements reassuring their presence. I focused on each one of them, locating them individually. Esme and Carlisle were in his study. Alice had just announced she and Jasper were "going hunting". Emmett was in the garage with Rosalie, telling her to give me time to "come around." Oh Emmett, always wants everyone to get along. His kind heart was endearing. Edward sat at his piano. I heard him lift the lid, only to close it once again. His hesitation to play was greatly appreciated.

"Felix, come lay with me." I heard Edward shift on the piano bench, before hearing Felix lay down beside me, careful to leave space between us. "I miss sleeping."

"That will fade. Your human habits are still fresh in your mind. It's hard at first to give them up." Bringing my arm down to my side, I lay my hand face up, inviting him to take it. His fingers laced through mine as he put my hand up to his lips. The chaste kiss brought a smile to my face, and I turned to look at him.

"Thank you for coming Felix. Leaving Elle was so hard. I can't imagine if I had to leave you both."

"Bella, I know we haven't had a chance to discuss the talk we had at the ocean, but I meant it. Every word…I meant it. There is no where I would rather be than right here with you. I'm here, as long as you'll have me." My head nodded at his words, while I closed my eyes tightly and looked away from his face. The piano downstairs reverberated with the familiar sounds of Bach. My mind struggled to deal with hearing music after so many months lost in a peaceful silence.

"Come here Bella." Felix stood holding his hand out. I complied with is request, sitting up, and then sliding to the edge of the bed. My body was spun in a circle immediately upon being pulled into his arms. "Dance with me."

I took a minute to appreciate the way my body moved gracefully during our dance. What was once an awkward and extremely embarrassing task had morphed into a pleasurable experience. Immortality made me light on my feet, and I was happy to find I was no longer uncoordinated. Felix spun me around, pulling me closer to his body. His step faltered when he saw the joy upon my face.

"You are so beautiful when you're happy." Placing his hand on my check, his eyes traveled down to rest their gaze upon my lips. The music downstairs changed abruptly. It started out very quiet, as though the keys were being touched tentatively. Felix inched forward and the music grew slightly louder. The pattern continued until my lips were touching his. He moved into the kiss gently, savoring the moment. The piano resonated with bold vibrations as the familiar melody traveled up the stairs. I felt it encircle me, tugging at my heart, while pulling me from Felix's kiss.

"What's wrong Bella?" He asked with a hurt expression.

"It's that song." I paused and took my bottom lip between my teeth. Looking back at the door, my emotions were going haywire with the feelings the song was invoking. The melody was calm and tranquil. A lullaby.

"Edward isn't playing fair." I said in a frustrated tone as I jerked the door open and made my way down the stairs. Felix followed at my heels. The piano set in its predesigned location; a raised platform in front of the massive wall of glass. He sat upon the black bench, ignoring our arrival.

"Stop it…Stop it now Edward." I spoke in a commanding tone. My fists tighten at my sides, waiting for his compliance.

"Bella what's wrong? What is this?" Felix asked in a concerned manner. He reached over to touch my shoulder but I shook my head no. Edward never looked up from the keys, or missed a note.

"Do you remember your lullaby Bella?" He finally asked as he played. "I wrote it for you the first time I heard you call my name out in your sleep. I hummed it to you every night as I lay beside you and watched you dream peacefully."

My heart hurt as I heard him speak. With every note, images of him lying in my tiny bed, me tucked under his arm and resting my head on his chest, flooded my mind. The scene was perfect as he hummed to me and stroked my hair. It was one of my most treasured memories, and it hurt.

"So help me I will break that piano in two!"

"For hours you would sit on Esme's chaise and listen to me play. You said it reminded you of the classical music that filled Renee's house in Phoenix." He looked up pensively as he remembered.

I pondered slamming my arm down on that shiny black piano. How would it feel to break it in two the way he once broke me? My mind wanted to do it. My anger told me to do it. My heart wouldn't let me. It wouldn't let me take away something that was so intricate to who he was; something so important to him. Instead I dug the palms of my hands into my eyes, gathering up the strength to deal with the situation.

"Please Edward. Please Stop." I said letting out a dry sob.

Before he could respond, Felix grabbed him by the back of his jacket collar, ripped him off the piano bench and threw him to the ground. "That's enough!" He spat at him. "You are hurting her with this game!"

Edward stood, and locked eyes with Felix. "It's not a game." He said directly to him, before he looked at me. "I love her. And this is me fighting for her." He brushed past Felix, making sure to bump his shoulder. Stopping next to me, his eyes poured out with conviction. "We were made for each other." He said softly as he continued on out the front door.

*******************

The family gathered in the front room after everyone returned from their various outings. We were leaving to meet the wolves in the clearing in only a few minutes.

"Felix, we need to discuss your diet while you are here. Bella has expressed she is ready to convert to the vegetarian lifestyle, but I need to be guaranteed that you will not hunt while you are here. The wolves will want reassurance of this." Carlisle spoke to Felix as the rest of the family stood around him.

"I suppose if Bella can give it a try, than I can too. My control is excellent. They will not have to worry about me hurting anybody. I won't do anything to jeopardize your life here."

"Alright then, it's going to be hard for them to see Bella. We all need to stay calm and let me handle as much as possible. Stay close to each other." Finishing his statement, Carlisle turned and led us all out the door. I ran holding Felix's hand, but Edward never left my side. The clearing came into view beyond the break in the trees. A putrid aroma settled in the air as we made our approach. I wondered if one of the Cullen's had forgotten to dispose of a drained carcass.

The family broke forth from the cover of the trees to reveal ourselves to the waiting wolf pack. Two huge men stood in the center of the field, ambassadors for the five wolves that lined the tree line. Our party continued to move forward until Carlisle put his hand up to stop us. He stepped in front to make his introductions of the other family members. I studied the faces of the two men carefully as he spoke. The bigger of the two, stood directly in front of me. His chest was chiseled and bare, his hair cropped short, but his face held something familiar.

I let out an audible gasp when it dawned on me who this man was. "Jake?" Still at human speed, I quickly walked forward, brushing off Edward's attempt to pull me back. The wolves growled out and Jacob jumped back away from where I was approaching. I stopped my forward progression and held my hands up in surrender.

"Oh right….vampire" I said pointing to myself, before then pointing to him and saying, "…werewolf. I didn't mean to alarm you." I bite my lip and dropped my head, looking at my feet.

"Yes, she's still Bella." Edward said, apparently answering a question I wasn't aware was asked.

I saw Jacob hesitantly step in my direction, uncertainty upon his face. He looked almost pained when he looked into my eyes. "Bells? Is that you?"

I nodded my head as I raised my arm out in his direction. The look he gave me was inquisitive. He seemed to be struggling with himself for a few seconds before he slowly reached out to meet my hand. Brushing the tips of my fingers with his, he then jerked them back. Heat flowed out of his flesh into mine. It almost hurt. I left my hand out, encouraging him to try again. His chest swelled out with the breath he drew in before deflating as he exhaled. Again he extended his arm out. This time he fully placed his hand in mine, leaving it there. We never stepped any closer than the two arms length away, but he continued to hold my hand.

"My old friend." I spoke. "Thank you for protecting Charlie."

The resulting tears that streamed down his face shocked me. I saw the other man move closer to us out of the corner of my eye and realized there were quiet tears coming from him as well. His face looked very familiar, but a name failed to come into focus.

"I was supposed to protect you. It was my job to protect you. I'm so sorry this happened to you Bella." The man's emotion shocked me a little. Looking back to Jacob for an explanation revealed he was completely in agreement with his friend.

"We can't change the past, but we can protect the future. My father's safety is all that matters to me now. It's my understanding that he wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for all of you. For that, I am eternally grateful." Chuckling a little at the thought that just popped into my head, I gave them the best smile I could muster. "And since I now have eternity…it looks like we can give new meaning to term life-long friendship."

They both gave me a pained smile before Jacob said, "Sure, Sure."

I gave Jacob's hand one final squeeze before releasing it and stepping back in between Edward and Felix.

Carlisle sent me a very approving smile before clearing his throat to speak. "Now that we're all here, we'd like to discuss plans to deal with the other vampires. I'm curious if you have caught the scent of the Red headed vampire you were chasing before? Has she been back since Bella was taken?"

"We have killed every vamp that's come through here, and there hasn't been any trace of her since the time we almost caught her. But the common link here is Bella. I wouldn't be surprised if the red head was still behind the attacks. However, the last batch was equipped with more skills…more fighting knowledge if you will. Something was just different about them." Jacob had been the one to provide the answer.

The other man was staring back in my direction. I felt a breeze blow through the clearing as something crossed his face causing him to grow angry; fiercely angry. "It was you! YOU TOOK HER!"

His body shook violently, exploding into fur, sending pieces of fabric out in all directions. The black wolf was massive as it lunged forward in the direction of …Felix?

"NO!" was shouted from Edward as he leapt in front of Felix, catching the animal in mid-air before it sank its teeth into his neck. Edward struggled with the wolf, pushing him backwards and away from Felix. "Sam stop!"

A/N

Did Edward just protect Felix?


	18. Dog Trainer

**Chapter 18: Dog Trainer**

**EPOV**

The strength possessed by the massive jaws of the black wolf, shocked me. His teeth pierced quickly into my granite skin, sending a jolt of pain throughout my body. Praying for relief, I reached up to remove the source of the pain, grabbing his muzzle and forcing his jaw to release its hold. My head was swimming with the frantic thoughts of all those in the presence of the attack. The pack was mostly excited for the prospect of a fight, though some of them were confused as to why their Alpha was suddenly attacking someone he professed an ally. Panic was spewing out of all the minds of my family.

"Sam, stop! I don't want to hurt you!" I pleaded for him to see reason before the rest of our families joined in. He was relentless, lost in the black hole of his anger. Thoughts of anguish, violence, and guilt radiated forth, maintaining hold on his body. This was not going well at all.

_…what is that noise...and what is that horrible smell…oh my god something is wrong…._

Finally gaining some ground, I shoved Sam off of me with as much force as possible. His body flew back in a massive heap of black fur, flying in the direction of his brothers. Snapping and growling at me, he regained his footing quickly, stalking toward me with a snarl.

"I understand how you're feeling, but you need to calm down!" Again, I pleaded with him to see reason. The injury to my neck was weakening me. Putting my left hand out to stop his assault, I then grabbed the open wound before dropping to my knees. He continued to slowly make his approach, all the while growling menacingly. I heard Emmett make the decision to stop him before I screamed out, "NO, stay back!" As if in slow motion, Sam's weight shifted to his back legs, preparing to lung forward onto me. Tightening up my body, I dropped my head down slightly and closed my eyes.

"STOP NOW!" came the musically shrill voice I had heard earlier in the wave of thoughts. My head shot up in the direction it rang out from, just in time to see Noel make her appearance. She carried herself toward us in a manner of high authority, red hair whipping around in the wind. Her tiny hand came up as she pointed in Sam's direction. "DOWN" she commanded. Shocked at her boldness, I turned back to Sam and found him down on his stomach. His mind was screaming to attack me, but his body stayed trapped in its place.

_Well that was easy. Edward what are you all doing with these dogs? They are obedient enough I suppose, but do you not know you can't domesticate a wild animal?_

I couldn't help smiling at her ramblings, and being genuinely happy to see her standing there. She was such an eccentric little thing, and I knew her presence would thrill Bella. All at once, everyone came out of the trance her appearance had put upon them, speaking out at the same time.

"ELLE!" Bella gasped.

"Who the hell are you?!" Jacob shouted.

"What just happened?" Sam grumbled.

Bella rushed over to her friend, encompassing her with an embrace. Elle squealed at her touch and they proceeded to bounce up and down. I don't think I've ever seen Bella act like that. She was behaving like Alice. Odd…very odd.

**BPOV**

"I cannot believe you are here Elle. I missed you so much! God, I was so afraid they would hurt you after we left. Please forgive me for leaving you!" I pleaded with her. If tears were still possible to trail down my face, they would be doing so now. My heart hurt thinking about what she probably went through to get away from Italy. Pulling her tightly to my body, I clung to her, hoping she would accept my apology. From the corner of my eye, I saw Carlisle helping Edward to his feet. Jacob stood with a scowl on his face, but his annoyance was directed at Sam. I began to ponder the reasoning for this, before Elle spoke, snapping my attention back to her.

"Bella, seriously, I never intended to stay in Italy. Didn't Edward tell you this? I was always coming to help you. I wouldn't leave you. You're my Best Friend." She hugged me back fiercely after she spoke.

Looking over at Edward, I nodded and said "I suppose he did try to tell me." Her face beamed at both of us, while Edward nodded his head in agreement to my statement. Elle turned and ran over to Felix, jumping up into his arms. He spun her around as I laughed at them. Walking forward, I took my place next to my two friends.

"Umm Bells?" Jacob paused, rubbing his neck, seeming to struggle with his thoughts. He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a loud shout.

"How can you protect him, Edward?! I know his scent…he took her. You must know this!" Sam shouted.

"Sam..." Edward started to say.

"NO! When I picked her up off that forest floor, I could have killed you. Shit, I must have been delusional when I convince myself you left for her benefit! We even sought you out when she went missing. I thought you cared for her…that you would help. But you don't care for her at all! If you did, her Murderer would not be standing here!" Felix made a move forward, but I stopped him.

Edward stood still, fists clenched tightly at his sides, staring at Sam with an expression of anguish. "I-have-always-loved-her." His fingers came up to pinch the bridge of his nose, before he dragged his hand down his face and said "This….this wasn't my grudge to keep."

Sam looked appalled. "I don't understand." He snapped at him.

"I forgave him a long time ago. Edward was, they all were, respecting my wishes." My voice came out unsure. Realizing how true my words were left me momentarily stunned. I could see Edward or even Emmett killing Felix for what he had done. However, they did not. From the beginning they accepted my wishes, and left him alone. This seemed uncharacteristic for the Edward I remembered from before. The memories I had from the past, presented him in a possessive and protective manner. His jealousy was sometimes barely contained, as was his anger. But only moments ago, did he not step in front of the man responsible for my immortality, to protect him from attack?

"He took everything from you, Bella. Do you even realize what you've lost?" Sam was unaware of the raging newborn emotions that he was awakening within me. How dare he assume I wasn't aware of how drastically the direction of my life had turned? I knew. I knew now, and I knew back then everything I had lost and would lose. He was yet another addition to the long line of men who saw me as a child with one dimensional vision.

Edward and I let out a deep growl at the same time. Sam stood his ground, shaking off Jacobs's attempts at encouraging him to back down. Felix grabbed hold of my arm quickly, keeping me from attacking. He looked to Edward, communicating to him without words, before snapping out at Sam.

"I should let her rip your head off for saying that. But I won't. I realize your concern is genuine, however misguided." Sam scoffed at his words, crossing his arms and contorting his face into a scowl. "You treat all of us as if this is something we chose; like we had a say in whether we became what we are. We were brought to this life without choice. The same goes for Bella. I will not apologize for granting her immortality! Considering you recognized my scent, I'm assuming you know that I was not the only vampire present the day Bella was taken. Both of the others wished to kill her right there in her father's house. I stopped them. I took her with us. I SAVED HER! Whether he chooses to acknowledge it or not, her fate was sealed the moment he mingled his scent with hers." He jerked his head sharply in Edward direction. "From then on Bella's life could only go in two direction; Death or Immortality. I chose life for her, and any one of you would have done the same."

His words soothed my anger away gently. This nonsense was a waste of time. Why continue to rehash something that could not be changed. "Sam, Jacob please, none of this is necessary. We can't change the past. This is who I am now, and I will make the most of it. I will not wallow in self pity, and I will not become a spiteful bitch. I refuse to be a victim of my circumstances!"

Both men blanched at the force of my voice, slightly stunned by the statement. Edward caught my eye, giving me an approving look. Behind me, the Cullens were mumbling to each other in voices that were too hard to discern. I let Sam and Jacob chew on my words for a few minutes before continuing.

"Now, can we please get back to protecting Charlie? He is the only thing I want to discuss. The previous discussion is closed." I ended my speech with finality, looking to Carlisle and Jasper to take over with the strategic conversation. They happily obliged.

After routes had been assigned, times of patrols had been divided and partners had been made, the wolves retreated into the tall trees leaving us behind. It only took me two seconds to pull Elle back into my arms, holding onto her for dear life. Reaching my hand out in Esme's direction, I beckoned her to come to me. The smile that spread across her face would have warmed the coldest of hearts. She was by my side in an instant, squeezing my hand.

"Esme, this is Noel. She's my best friend, and I know you're just going to love her. Would it be okay if she stays with us? I need her."

"Don't be Silly. Of course you can stay dear. You were there for my daughter when I wasn't. I owe you a great deal." Esme put her arms around Elle's neck and gave her a hug. Elle sent me a very amused look over Esme shoulder, but she kept her opinions to herself. She was no doubt enchanted by the strong attachment both the Cullen patriarchs had formed toward me.

"Let's get you settled in at the house. I'm sure you and Alice will have a fun time decorating one of the guest rooms." Esme told Elle, who smiled brightly at the thought of having her own room.

Behind us came a loud huff. Peering around Esme and Elle, I deduced the huff came from the very pouty looking Alice, who stood with her arms crossed and her bottom lip pouched out. She then stalked over to us with an amazing amount of grace.

Stopping a few feet away, she pointed her tiny finger at Elle and said, "I am Bella's best friend!"

"ALICE!" Edward hissed out in warning. Elle looked amused as ever.

"But Edward, I am!" Alice whined in his direction. I knew it was wrong of me, but I couldn't keep in the tiny giggle that escaped from my mouth. I quickly covered up my face with my hand.

"Alice, are you jealous?" Edward asked with a sly little smirk pasted onto his perfect face. The situation was apparently humorous to everyone listening, due to the smiles and attempts at containing giggles. This must not be like Alice at all. I looked over at Elle apologetically, but I could already see the wheels turning in her heard. Elle had a plan. In fact, Elle always has a plan. If Alice only realized how alike the two really were, they would be unstoppable.

"Don't worry Alice. I've heard many wonderful things about you from Bella. She loves you so much, and I wouldn't dream of trying to replace you. In fact, I would absolutely love it if you could help me decorate my room. We could go shopping whenever things quiet down. I bet Bella could really use a new Alice approved wardrobe." God did she just bat her eyes?

The twinkle I remembered suddenly came back upon Alice's face. Elle was good…really good.

"I suppose that sounds like fun." Alice responded trying to diminish the enthusiasm I knew was radiating under the surface. God I missed Alice so much. She was a bright light in a very dreary world, and I cherished her. Between her and Elle, how could anyone ever be down in the dumps? Their faces alone drew you into their positive aura. As if that wasn't enough, their actions reminded you that fate does not create monsters. People allow themselves to become monsters.

Alice was locked up, with the key thrown away, as a human. The years spent in a dark room, suffering through sensory deprivation, would have driven anyone insane. But immortality only brought her light. She possessed her own conscious, having never once taken a single drop of human blood into her body. Retaliation on the human race, that once viewed her as an abomination, would have been simple. Our dear Alice chose the higher road. Never dwelling on the past, she performed good deed after good deed. Her spirit and soul were brilliant, and I wanted to be just like her.

Gifted with an immense ability, Elle could have lost herself in the power she held. Abandoned by her sire, left confused and alone, evil could have overtaken her. She stood her ground, and remembered herself. Even when those wished to abuse her and control her power for themselves, she never once crossed over to the other side. The desire to be a good person was always prevalent in her, and I had no doubt that she would join us in the vegetarian lifestyle now that she knew there was another way to live. I admired her fortitude, and I wanted to be just like her.

My two friends held a very dear place in my heart; a place that stretched out into the model of which I hoped to mimic somewhat in my immortal life. They might not know it now, but they were going to be great friends.

"Well, Rosie and I are off to do our patrols. You let Eddie here take you hunting Bells. We don't want a repeat of our elevator fiasco. We need to keep you well feed." Emmett punched me in the shoulder. I caught his wrist before he could draw it back, twisting his arm in a way to send him to his knees. Rosalie let out a loud chuckle.

"You and I are going to have a lot of fun together brother." My smile spread up to my eyes, and I let go of his arm. He shook his head and laughed. Grabbing Rosalie, they turned to leave. As they left I heard him ask her, "When does that newborn strength end?" To which she, again, just laughed.

"That really is a good idea Bella. The rest of us will be back at the house. You should hunt." Carlisle spoke in a very commanding voice. I suppose he wasn't giving me a choice, so much as instructing me. I nodded my head and looked over at where Felix and Edward stood together. Edward's face lit up before Felix notified him us that he would be joining us. A tiny amount of disappointment crossed in his eyes before he squashed it. Edward walked forward and slung his arm around my shoulders as the rest of the family, including Elle, took off toward the white house.

"You asked me once if you could watch me hunt. I was so shocked then, appalled even, that you asked such a question. You always ran right toward the things you should run away from. It really frustrated the family back then. But now, I would be honored to take you on your first hunt love." Edward said, rubbing my shoulders. His touched sent chills down my body, while his eyes penetrated deep into my soul. Felix cleared his throat behind us, and the trance was broken.

"I don't remember that." I said meekly. Edward simply laughed and grabbed hold of my hand. We ran away from the treaty line, but still deep into the forest.

*************************************

I was covered in Elk's blood! Sinking my teeth into a cold plastic bag since my creation, did nothing to prepare me for hunting my own food. Felix told me it would be natural, and simple for me to adjust. Nothing was simple for Bella Swan. Immortality did nothing to change that. I always worked hard for and at everything I did, and hunting was no exception.

"Why are you all clean, Edward?!" I shouted at him, hands perched atop my hips. He joined in when Felix laughed. This just pissed me off, causing me to take off after the herd of Elk again. Jumping onto the back of the biggest one I could see, I snapped his neck and drained it within minutes.

"HA! Not a single drop spilled that time." Very proud of myself, I approached them both again, basking in the approval and pride on their faces. Smiling, I looked down at my clothes and cringed.

"I desperately need a shower, and I'm sure Alice will want to burn these clothes. Catch me if you can boys!" I chided before taking off in the direction of Cullen Manor. My newborn speed did not fail me, allowing me to stay ahead the whole time. The trees whirled by beside me, jolting out a memory of trips like these on Edward's back. Abruptly, I stopped, and they flew past me. I heard a distinct "Damn it" and "Shit" before they stood in front of me again.

"What's wrong?" Edward asked. His concerned expression mimicked that of Felix's.

My head fell slightly to the side, pondering this new memory. "You used to run with me on your back. It scared me then."

Edward was confused at first, but then smiled and nodded his head. "Yes, you would close your eyes and I would have to pry you off when it was over. It was the quickest way to our meadow though. We walked the first time, and it took hours. You kept tripping over the tree roots on the forest floor. I ran with you on the way back, and I thought you were going to pass out. Instead, we ended up kissing for the first time."

Biting my bottom lip, I tried to pull up the scene of our first kiss from my subconscious. My eyebrows furrowed with my attempts and Felix got the wrong impression. He rushed over and took my hand, pulling me into his body.

"Let's get you out of here." He said in a growl directed over to Edward. He released my body to pull me away by the hand. I turned and gave Edward a warm smile, showing my appreciation for his story. His shoulders dropped and he relaxed, following after us.

The house came into view shorting after. Eager to be free of the evidence of my first failed attempts at hunting, I released Felix's hand and raced directly into my bathroom. The hot shower effortlessly washed away the blood that represented the disappointment in myself. The clean slate filled me with optimism and I beamed. The first few kills weren't pretty, but I managed to get better with each animal I took down. This thought thrilled me and I was pleased. My body welcomed the clean clothes Alice had obviously seen I would need, and had laid out for me on the toilet seat. I had to roll my eyes at the fancy lace underwear, and wondered if I would spend eternity fighting her for comfort.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Edward's shout pulled me from the confines of my room and into the hallway. He was peeking over the shoulder of a very stunned looking Jasper and Felix. Pushing through them, I couldn't help but laugh at the sight I saw. In an almost empty room, was Elle, clad in a yellow tank top, short orange boy shorts, and bright purple high heels? Her head was bobbing to the music streaming out of the vivid pink IPod into the white ear buds attached to her ears. She was completely ignorant to what was happening around her, as she pushed the hardwood floor mop around the room. This sight was hysterical, but typical Elle.

Approaching her, I lightly pulled the cord on her headphones. It fell from her ear and she looked up into my face.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Bella, it's so obvious isn't it. I'm cleaning my new room so I can move in. It smelled so musty and like boy before." She crinkled her nose. "But nothing that a little elbow grease couldn't erase."

I noticed Alice had made her way past the boys and was now taking in her surroundings.

"It smelled like boy, because this is Edward's room." Jasper stated matter-of-factly behind us. Every book and every CD had been taken down. The black couch had been removed, as had the huge golden decorated bed. All traces of Edward's possessions were missing, but it was without a doubt, his room.

I turned to find him standing in the doorway, astonished. His face was priceless and I could no longer control myself. Bending over at the waist, my stomach hurt from the hysterical fit of laughter I was participating in with Alice.

"This is not happening! There are plenty of other rooms! This is mine!" Edward spat out to Elle.

"But this one is the biggest, and it has the best view." The pout on her face could have been identical to the one that Alice whipped out earlier in the forest. They were so much alike, it was staggering.

"No way! Alice did the same thing when she showed up, and I'm not relenting this time!"

"Humm, well I can see how that would make you less likely to give in to my teeny tiny request." Her voice oozed out in a sickly sweet manner. I knew exactly what that voice meant, and Edward was so screwed. He would learn though eventually, just like I have. You don't bet against Alice, and you certainly don't go against Elle.

"Edward…" She cooed. "You know I can make you. Just give in now like a good boy, and save face."

His hands went up in the air in exasperation before he said, "Whatever!" over his shoulder, pushing past the other guys, and walking out the door. The entire room lost it.


	19. Prison Full of Healing

**Chapter 19: Prison Full of Healing **

**BPOV**

My laughter was short lived as I heard the front door slam shut downstairs after Edward's departure from the room. Maybe the situation wasn't as funny as I had thought. Had we spent a lot of time in this room? Did it hold more value to him than simply being a hole for his possessions? I could be so dense sometimes! What was wrong with me?

All around, the laughter continued at Edward's expense. I was ashamed at my participation and let out a growl. Heads snapped in my direction throughout the room. "That's enough!" I demanded as I pushed past my brothers who were blocking the door. "Don't bother following me!"

His scent drew me in immediately, calling me to follow him back into the forest. Quickly, I ran to catch up, hoping my apology would be accepted and not fall upon deaf ears. The meadow seemed to appear out of nowhere. Its familiarity brought a smile to my face at once. The grass was taller than I remembered. It swayed in the breeze in a majestic rhythm, mesmerizing me as I watched on with awe. The beautiful man stood directly in the center of the field, back turned, and hands shoved in his pockets. His shoulders were hunched slightly forward, while his head hung down. From this angle, he looked very broken. The realization would have brought me to tears, but instead it tugged at my heartstrings and compelled me to his side.

"Edward, can we talk?"

He turned around to look at me, a smile spreading across his face. Surely he knew I would follow him out here? But he looked genuinely surprised that I was standing before him. He raised his eyes, and looked around behind me, inquiring to whether I had brought company.

"I'm sorry about before. I'll talk to Elle about your room. She had no right to do that. And I'm really sorry about laughing at you." His smile just seemed to broaden at my words.

"Don't be silly, Bella. I like your friend. I have great respect for her. She can have the room if she wants it. My intention was to give her a hard time, but she's just so crafty. She doesn't exactly play fair with that gift." He chuckled more to himself than anything. His demeanor was a little unsettling. What does he mean he 'likes' my friend? Like…Like, Likes? "Anyways, no worries, love, we won't be in Forks much longer, and it'll be decades before we return."

My face held worry; I could feel it settling as I mulled over his words. "Um…okay…yeah…Elle's a great girl…so yeah…"

He stared at me with a gaping jaw, wheels turning in his head, attempting to decipher what I meant by that. For a second, a hint of fury flashed in his eyes and I was certain he was angry with me. But Edward threw his head back, breaking out in boisterous laughter. It was beautiful.

"I think you misunderstood. I'm not attracted to Elle!" He continued to chuckle, and I was surprised how relieved I was, therefore, I didn't hold it against him that he was basically laughing at me. "Did you think I had given up so easily?"

"Well, I'm glad I amuse you…" I feigned annoyance, dropping down into the grass, taking a seat at his feet. He soon joined me, still ornamented with his goofy ass grin.

"Bella, I love you. I told before. I'm not giving up on us. Whether you know it or not, we are bound to each other."

I flinched a little with his choice of words. It hurt me to see him so lost, and desperate. Hating him would be so easy, and yet I couldn't bring myself to dismiss everything that I know we had together. The few memories he was able to restore for me, were happy and full of colossal amounts of love. I might not remember everything we went through, but what I could, captivated me. Coming to terms with the fact that I still loved Edward, while caring for Felix, was very taxing on my soul. The irrational side of me, said to forget everything else other than Edward. I loved him now, like I loved him then, and nothing else mattered, right? But reasonably, I was scared. Edward had left. Our love was not enough then to make him stay, what guarantee did I have that this time would be any different? And yet Felix had never done anything but keep promise after promise, while protecting me and treating me with the utmost respect. I didn't love him yet, but if I let Edward go fully within my heart, I knew it wouldn't be hard to fall head over heels for him.

Felix was the man who wrapped me in his icy embrace to chase off the burning fire, holding me until I awoke from the pits of hell. He kept my secret when I refused to kill, and willing risked himself to fulfill my need to uphold the lifestyle Carlisle had adhered to. Sitting hours in the dark, witnessing my self-loathing and pain, he had become one of my best friends. I respected him as he respected me in return. I felt every bit his equal, not the ward he was tasked to watch over. My feelings for him were not the same that I had for Edward, but I deeply cared for him all the same. However, the element that continued to weigh heavily on my heart, was the fact that I had chosen with everything in my being, to willingly sacrifice my mortal life to remain with Edward. As of right now, in a reversed situation, I wouldn't do the same for Felix. I cherished everything we had together, but given the chance, I would still be human. Enduring immortality with him, after the fact, would be safe, and comforting. But if our relationship had been formed while I was human, I don't believe I would have asked him to change me.

"That's twice, you know." He turned to me and gave me a curious look.

"Twice?" He asked, confused.

"That's twice you've put yourself in harms' way in order to protect my friends. I didn't say anything in Italy when you stepped in front of Elle, but what you did for Felix, did not go unnoticed."

"I heard Sam's decision to attack. That gave me an advantage, and I was able to keep him from seriously hurting me. If I had let him have Felix, things would not have ended so well. Losing him would hurt you. The devastating pain on your face the day I abandoned you in the forest, has haunted me every single second since I left you. I will do everything in my power to never have to see that look mar your perfect face, ever again." I yearned to reach out and touch him. That sharp lines of his jaw pleaded for me to rest my hand upon them. The electric tingles and the underlying pull I felt in his presence was growing stronger with each day I spent with him.

"Are you hurt?" I asked. His failure to respond answered my question without words. Sitting up on my knees, I scooted closer to him, intent on inspecting his neck. "Can I see?"

His fingers began to unfasten the buttons of his shirt. Slipping his arms out of the sleeves, his body was now bare, causing me to gasp at the exposure of skin. Turning in my direction, the gash on his neck oozed with venom, sending a sickening feeling throughout me.

"Oh Edward...why didn't you let Carlisle seal it?" His shoulders shrugged in his attempt to show me he was fine and that he saw the whole thing as no big deal. He wasn't, however, fooling me in the slightest. My body shifted around to the side of the gash, bringing me inches from his neck. His unnecessary breath hitched, comprehension registering within him. Slowly, my fingers reached up to tenderly ghost over the venom, causing him to hiss at the discomfort of the contact. My eyes caught his, instructing him to be still and trust me. As I leaned my face forward, I was struck with the extremely aromatic scent of his venom. It amplified the electricity that was hanging heavy in the air. I gave him one last pleading look before tucking my hair behind my ears and dropping my gaze from his. My eyes closed, allowing me to savor his sweet essence, cataloging it to memory. Hesitant at first, my tongue crawled out a minuscule amount, leaving only the tip to briefly touch the corner of the bottom wound. The flavor of his venom was nothing short of euphoric, eliciting a small groan from my chest. His chest started to pant, making me wonder if this was really a good idea. The hesitance was futile, for nothing in that moment could have kept me from taking in the rest of his poison. My hands tighten their grip on both his shoulders, possessively holding him in place, and forbidding him from denying me. I lay my tongue flat against his skin, slowly dragging it across the bottom wound. Taking my time to relish in the flavor, while still ensuring the job was done thoroughly, the gash clinched closed in the wake of my tongue. By the time I made my way to the top wound, Edward was emitting an exhilarating purr.

The absence of the venom brought me out of my temporary trance, and I sat back on my bottom away from him. It did not however, do anything to stifle the daze I fell into, or squelch the fuzzy numbness that swirled around in my head. Edward sat alarmingly still, bracing himself as he dug his fist into the grass, holding on for dear life. His eyes had yet to open and for this I was grateful. Watching him calmed the craziness swimming within me.

In a flash, he seemed to lose whatever control the grass was providing him. Throwing his body in my direction, I was flat on my back, my arms pinned above my head, as he straddled my torso with his knees. His face was full of pain.

"Why are you doing this? Must you torture me so?" Had I wanted to, I could have easily mustered up the newborn strength to free myself from his clutches. But the sorrow on his face allowed me to submit to his need to momentarily hurt me the way I was hurting him. So I lay there, mesmerized. "I can take every hateful venomous word you shout at me, but that is torture Bella! Feeling your body beneath me, your tongue against me, is more than I can bear if it means nothing to you! I don't want parts of you, I want it all!"

"I don't know if I can give you all of it!!" My words came out almost hysterically.

"I know I hurt you. But I can't change the past Bella! Let me bear the guilt and the pain! I will gladly carry those burdens for the rest of existence." His body trembled with unshed tears. "I know you need me the way I need you. Forever is a long time to settle. Let me carry the blame for all my mistakes. But don't…don't spend the rest of eternity paying for my stupidity." He paused to reign in control over the raw emotion that was spewing out of him. He finally looked up, remorse and pain reflected in his eyes and said with perfect clarity, "We were made for each other."

The beautiful moment was interrupted with the shrill ring of his cell phone. With an exasperated sigh, he rolled off me and flipped the tiny silver phone open. Alice's musical voice filtered through the ear piece instructing it was now safe and that he should be careful.

"What was she talking about?" I questioned.

"Charlie is at work. It's safe for us to go in the house now." He stood as he was speaking, extending his hand down, in a kind though unnecessary gesture to help me up. I took his hand, relishing in the tingles, before we took off running in the direction of my father's tiny white house. Yellow cabinets. I distinctly remember yellow cabinets.

"You can take a few things love, but not enough for him to realize stuff is gone, at least not too quickly. We should hurry though." The scent of the room overwhelmed me when we stepped into the tiny house. There were bowls pilled high in the sink giving off a sour aroma that burned the inside of my nose. Dust lay in thick layers over every surface, while also floating in the air, becoming illuminated with the sunlight filtering in through the windows. There was an unmistakable stench that reeked of depression, sadness, and misery. The owner of this house had let his feelings saturate the walls, penetrating deep into the sheet rock. My chest tightened with despair, for it was not easy to thwart the strong pull of emotions that haunted these rooms.

As I climbed each rise of the staircase, my eyes took inventory of the pictures that embellished the walls, creating a quilt of family memories in mismatched frames. The sight of my parents holding me as a baby, while standing next to the SOLD sign in front of the house, was heartbreaking. Charlie never took down any of the reminders of his collapsed family. The whole house sat as a museum to the failure his marriage was, and yet he never cared to alter any of the decorations that Renee had bestowed upon the home he bought to raise and shelter his family. If it was a museum before, it was now nothing more than a prison for a broken man. A prison with yellow cabinets.

My old bedroom lay virtually untouched. The door stuck and creaked loudly from disuse, and if possible, the layer of dust was thicker in here. I should have been taking inventory, burning the images of the room into my head, knowing this would be the last time I stepped foot into it. But I guess I never did what I should do. Instead, I stared, transfixed, on the window. The memories I held vividly, even from the second I woke up from the change, started to play through my mind. All the pain and loss, centered around that damned window. For weeks, I never gave up hope that he would come through it and save me. But alas, the window stayed closed.

The air in the room shifted quickly as a breeze blew through and stirred the dust. "Edward?" I questioned to the empty space behind me where he once stood. Why did he leave?

And then I heard it. A moaning slide, as wood and metal gave way to the friction. I froze for a small instant, before jerking myself around to see the window raised slowly. My hand shot to cover my mouth, acting to contain my gasps. In that moment, the healing began. For this time, Edward stepped through the window.

My body crumpled with relief, but I was caught in his embrace before my knees ever touched the floor. He held me tightly, letting the dry sobs purge the pain of our past. His hand stroked my hair and ran comforting patterns down my back. Remaining silent, he held me until the sobbing waned.

A musty, faint scent caught my attention a few feet away from me. Turning my head on his chest, I took a deep breath and stared in the direction it was coming from. Though very old, it was undeniably the scent of Edward. Pushing away from him gently, I crawled on my knees, following the trail with incredible accuracy. Tapping the floorboard in just the right spot, it popped up to reveal pictures, a CD, plane tickets, and pieces of paper he had once written me notes on. I pulled them all out and held the tightly to my chest, closing my eyes to bask in the implications. He left them behind.

"I couldn't leave you completely. I had to leave something behind." His face was full of shame, while his eyes pleaded for me to understand.

I couldn't help the small smile that twitched at the sides of my mouth. "I could feel you. You took all my reminders, but I swore you were still here." My smile was spreading with the infectious feeling of our relationship mending. He returned the sentiment.

Again, the shrill ring of his tiny cell phone sounded. I scowled at the interruption, and he laughed as he opened it.

"GET HERE RIGHT NOW! THEY'RE HERE! THERE ARE SO MANY EDWARD! THE CLEARING….NOW!" Alice's voice filled me with instant panic and determination. I grabbed the stuff in my hand and shoved it back into its hiding place, snapping the floorboard back into place. Without looking back, I jumped out the window and took off running toward my family. In an instant, Edward was running by my side.

We were almost to the clearing when I heard the sounds of menacing snarling. Felix burst through the trees, stopping our approach before the open field came into view. He looked directly at Edward, speaking to him silently. His hand came down on my shoulder, grasping me sternly. "Esme is still at the house. You need to go get her, and bring her here. Quickly."

Looking from one man to the other, I shook my head. "I'm not leaving either of you!"

"Bella, please!" Edward pleaded. "We need all the help we can get! Go get her, and then come back to us!"

I wanted to argue more, but with both of them so adamant that I do this, I let it go. Giving them one finally nod, I turned and ran. My heart ached with each step I took in the opposite direction of both of them. The knowledge that the sooner I got to Esme, the sooner I could return to their side, kept me running in the direction of the Cullen house. I poured every ounce of newborn strength into running as fast as possible. I leapt over the river in one single bound, landing in a crouch. My head snapped up at the anguish filled screams of Esme, and I shot off in the direction of the back door. The door shattered at the force with which a burst through, anxious to reach my mother.

My shield instinctively reached out to wrap its protective power around her, causing the screaming to stop. There in the middle of our living room, Esme lay on the floor, recovering from the pain inflicted by the vile vampire that stood above her. Jane turned her head in my direction as I entered the room, hissing at the intrusion.

"B-e-l-l-a….so nice of you to join us!" She snapped. "I bet your wondering why I'm here."

"Actually, I don't really give a damn why you're here Jane! The only thing that matters is you are here, outside the castle walls. I warned you what would happen if we ever crossed paths outside of Volterra. You obviously had a hand in all of this, and for that you will die, just like all the others."

The force of my blow sent her flying through the glass wall at the back of the house. I was out of the house and pinning her down before she ever had a chance to recover from the first blow. I took great pleasure in punching her repeatedly in the face while I straddled her chest, pinning her arms with my knees. She twisted violently, trying to free herself. Her nails dug into my chest as she fought to push me off, but I never stopped beating her face in. I would have continued to lay into her for the sheer enjoyment of finally delivering pain to the vampire who thought she was invincible, but Esme stopped me.

"Bella, the other's need us!" Her panicked voice pulled me back from the rage. I nodded in her direction, knowing we had little time. My hands clasped both sides of Jane's head. Without dignifying her with a warning or explanation, I promptly twisted and snapped her head right off her body. Not taking the time to savor the moment as I had envisioned so many times, Esme helped me to pull apart the rest of her, pile the remains high, and set the whole thing ablaze. We were running toward the field not three minutes after I ripped off Jane's head, purple smoke rising into the horizon behind us.

As the field drew closer, so did the sounds of the battle that we would imminently join. Not only did we hear the combination of growls and screams, but also the loud crunch that resulting from two boulders colliding with each other. My senses informed me the field was saturated with dozens of unknown vampires, and alerted me that we weren't alone in this fight. The putrid smell of werewolves lingered everywhere, and I was ever so thankful for their presence.

The battle played out in front of us as we stepped out of the tree line. There were hoards of ravenous, newborn vampires scattered across the field. Every member of my family as well as every werewolf was broken off into individual fights. Each was taking on at least two at a time, though I noticed immediately that Jasper was fighting four. I was frantic in my search for Edward and Felix, desperate to get to them. Esme spotted Carlisle and took off to give him assistance. I ran down the middle of the field hoping to spot either of them. My search came up empty until I was almost completely on the far side of the clearing. There, almost a hundred yards away, were both of them, fifty yards apart, and fighting three vampires each. Each of them needed my help. The two men I cared for most in this world needed me, and I was but one person.

Without a single hesitation or an ounce of conscious thought; I ran toward Edward.

I chose Edward.

A/N

I know you all were getting really anxious for Bella to figure it out already. But this was how it was always meant to happen. (How I saw it in my head) Bella thinks too much about things. She needed to stop over analyzing and being so logical, and be forced to choose with her heart. Just like in New Moon. She could have stayed and been happy with Jacob, but Edward needed her. So she went to him, without ever even questioning it. In the end, Edward matters the most.


End file.
